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Opinion
Mihir Sharma

On China, Congress Is Its Own Worst Enemy

If the US wants to regain a competitive edge over its biggest rival, it needs to get over its kneejerk opposition to free trade. 

Even once-protectionist India is opening itself up to cheap imports.

Even once-protectionist India is opening itself up to cheap imports.

Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg
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Fresh off a leadership election that transfixed the world, the United States House of Representatives is, supposedly, getting down to business. High on the agenda: a bipartisan committee that will examine the possible sources of China’s competitive edge over the US.

I can save the House some time. That committee, if it does its job well, will quickly discover that a large part of the problem is … the U.S. Congress. And, as the past week’s dysfunction showed, that problem is going to get worse.