Wal-Mart accused of killing jobs through imports

WAL-MART Stores’ import of goods from China led to the loss of more than 400 000 jobs in the US between 2001 and 2013, according to a report from a USbased non-profit think tank.

The world’s largest retailer likely accounted for 15.3 percent of the growth in the US goods trade deficit with China in the same period, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) said in a report yesterday.

US goods trade deficit with China increased almost fourfold to $324.2 billion (R4.7 trillion) in the 12 years till 2013, with WalMart accounting for $48.1bn of the total, the EPI said.

“Wal-Mart has aided China’s abuse of labour rights and its violations of internationally recognised norms of fair trade by providing a vast and everexpanding conduit for the distribution of artificially cheap and subsidised Chinese exports to the US,” the EPI said.

The EPI also said Wal-Mart’s plan to source more US-made goods had resulted in very few actual manufacturing jobs being created.

Wal-Mart said EPI’s analysis was “flawed” and that the company adds jobs through other areas of its business.

Wal-Mart also cited a report by Boston Consulting Group that said the company would create an estimated 1 million new US jobs by 2023 through its US manufacturing initiatives, including direct job growth of about 250 000.

The EPI said the rising US trade deficit and more WalMart imports would likely displace much more manufacturing jobs than the company creates in the US over the next decade. – Reuters