During a recent trip to Buffalo, NY,  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) spoke out about China’s illegal trade practices, which are undercutting U.S. auto supply manufacturers: 

"This seems to be a strategy China has right now," Gillibrand said Monday in Buffalo. "They've increased their exports by almost 900 percent in the auto parts market since 2001, so there's a bull's-eye on this industry by the Chinese government, and we need to be able to hit back and demand a level playing field."

According to the Buffalo News, Sen. Gillibrand also visited Curtis Screw, a company that manufacturers parts used by the auto industry. Curtis Screw, like hundreds of other American companies, would like to export some of its products to China—but is finding it nearly impossible to do so:

“The problem we have is, [said John Hoskins Jr., Curtis Screw's executive vice president] now we're being asked to compete against the Chinese government. It's not that we're being asked to compete against Chinese manufacturers, which we've done and won.”

Sen. Gillibrand is concerned about the impact China’s predatory trade practices are having on the auto supply industry in her state—and rightfully so. New York State is home to more than 58,000 auto parts manufacturing jobs. And the problem isn’t limited to New York alone.  Nationwide, the automotive sector accounts for about 1 of every 15 manufacturing jobs, and more than 400,000 of these auto supply jobs have been lost since 2000.

Read more about China’s attack on the American auto supply industry.