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If it wasn’t China, the US would be importing goods from elsewhere. It’s unlikely the response to not China will be America. There are reasons to believe the

If it wasn’t China, the US would be importing goods from elsewhere. It’s unlikely the response to not China will be America. There are reasons to believe the US should still do not China even if it means Bangladesh or Vietnam (in fact, this is exactly what the TPP was supposed to have achieved, and would have better protected worker rights as well as IP...but I guess that wasn’t blunt enough for America). The US is wealthier than it has ever been thanks to trade abroad. It makes absolutely no sense that the country that has overall benefited the most from trade, is complaining about it. What the US hasn’t done, is spread the benefits of trade internally. The US economic problems stem from whatever led to a small percentage of the economy pocketing the vast gains. It’s far more likely that tax changes, regulatory changes, and changes in union power have a lot more to do with that than anything else. But it’s always easier to blame Johnny Foreigner and people have been doing it for millennia, so there’s no reason to believe the US would be immune from it.

yyyk 7y ago
"If it wasn’t China, the US would be importing goods from elsewhere." Other places don't cheat with market access or steal IP anywhere as much as China. Any economic rebalancing would have been far more gradual. "What the US hasn’t done, is spread the benefits of trade internally. The US economic problems stem from whatever led to a small percentage of the economy pocketing the vast gains." You mean policies such as open trade with China, which was inherently biased towards profits to the top, given the way offshoring worked? This does not mean there weren't other factors at work, rather that China trade was one policy in an array of policies with a similar outcome. "But it’s always easier to blame Johnny Foreigner and people have been doing it for millennia, so there’s no reason to believe the US would be immune from it. " My country profited from the US's Free Trade advocacy, and I still think the US's China policy was either insane or driven by elite concerns. It's one thing to have free trade, another to have one-way free trade with a country that cheated so openly, and is now a superpower competitor.
leereeves 7y ago
> The US is wealthier than it has ever been thanks to trade abroad. And more unequal than it has been since the Gilded Age, when the infamous robber-barons ruled the economy unrestrained. As you said, the US hasn't "spread the benefits of trade internally", but that has a lot to do with globalization. Workers lost bargaining power and income as competition for their jobs increased due to globalization, and unions became weak when companies responded to strikes by moving operations overseas. The benefits of globalization naturally flow to foreign workers and the few Americans in charge, while the cost of globalization falls on American workers.
surfcao 7y ago
Agree with you. That's how free market-based economic works, seeking maximum return. Inside an economy, free market tends to increase economic inequality and monopoly, which seems to be the major source of many things going on (Trump elected, protests in HK, France). When this happens, blaming Johnny Foreigner is easier..
imtringued 7y ago
>If it wasn’t China, the US would be importing goods from elsewhere. I don't see the problem. USA has practically no leverage in the trade relationships with China. They can't change China for the better. So cutting China off is a net benefit even if other countries will take its role. That also means USA can now trade with countries that actually respect American laws and do in fact share American values like democracy or human rights. This idea that we must sell our soul for a small profit must die.
deleted 7y ago
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yyyk 7y ago

"If it wasn’t China, the US would be importing goods from elsewhere." Other places don't cheat with market access or steal IP anywhere as much as China. Any economic rebalancing would have been far more gradual. "What the US hasn’t done, is spread the benefits of trade internally. The US economic problems stem from whatever led to a small percentage of the economy pocketing the vast gains." You mean policies such as open trade with China, which was inherently biased towards profits to the top, given the way offshoring worked? This does not mean there weren't other factors at work, rather that China trade was one policy in an array of policies with a similar outcome. "But it’s always easier to blame Johnny Foreigner and people have been doing it for millennia, so there’s no reason to believe the US would be immune from it. " My country profited from the US's Free Trade advocacy, and I still think the US's China policy was either insane or driven by elite concerns. It's one thing to have free trade, another to have one-way free trade with a country that cheated so openly, and is now a superpower competitor.

leereeves 7y ago

> The US is wealthier than it has ever been thanks to trade abroad. And more unequal than it has been since the Gilded Age, when the infamous robber-barons ruled the economy unrestrained. As you said, the US hasn't "spread the benefits of trade internally", but that has a lot to do with globalization. Workers lost bargaining power and income as competition for their jobs increased due to globalization, and unions became weak when companies responded to strikes by moving operations overseas. The benefits of globalization naturally flow to foreign workers and the few Americans in charge, while the cost of globalization falls on American workers.

surfcao 7y ago

Agree with you. That's how free market-based economic works, seeking maximum return. Inside an economy, free market tends to increase economic inequality and monopoly, which seems to be the major source of many things going on (Trump elected, protests in HK, France). When this happens, blaming Johnny Foreigner is easier..

imtringued 7y ago

>If it wasn’t China, the US would be importing goods from elsewhere. I don't see the problem. USA has practically no leverage in the trade relationships with China. They can't change China for the better. So cutting China off is a net benefit even if other countries will take its role. That also means USA can now trade with countries that actually respect American laws and do in fact share American values like democracy or human rights. This idea that we must sell our soul for a small profit must die.

deleted 7y ago

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