The United States of America is the greatest experiment in democratic principles and liberty in all of human history. Not since the Judges ruled the Israelites have so many enjoyed freedom and fortune. The USA shook off tyrannical colonial rule to become the premiere force for freedom. America thrived because we enshrined our God given rights in our Constitution and we embraced capitalism and free enterprise in the pursuit of happiness. The result was the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world.
Blessed with abundant natural resources and an innovative hard working citizenry, we have far and away the largest economy on the earth. But America cannot maintain that coveted superiority if we are complacent or weak. We must guard against theft of our intellectual property, erosion of our agricultural and manufacturing capacity, and abuse offour good will.
When Europe and Japan were devastated after WWII, America agreed to tariffs on our exports so they would not be overrun by our economic dynamo and allow them to rebuild their economies and infrastructure. And we literally shouldered their defense for more than 75 years. These nations spend 2% or less of their much smaller GDPs for defense while the USA spends 3-4% of our gargantuan GDP to protect our allies. America has been more than generous carrying the burden for stabilizing the world.
All of these countries have fully recovered and now enjoy good standards of living under the American defense umbrella. Unfortunately, they stand idly by while our adversaries engage in predatory trade practices. And worse, multinational companies facilitate the pillaging of our ideas and manufacturing by investing in countries that literally undercut American workers with slave labor.
Free trade is a noble goal, but it must be fair. Each nation must look after its own interests. While competition is healthy, no nation wants to see any industry decimated by foreign competitors. They must protect their workers and preserve some modicum of capacity in each sector for their national well-being. If any industry collapses in a nation, that nation becomes dependent on foreign powers that may not always be amicable. For instance, Canada maintains tariffs on American dairy products to preserve the Canadan dairy industry.
The media and Wall Street are moaning about the dangers of trade wars while completely ignoring the exploitation of American companies and workers. Until President Trump intervened, American manufacturing had been declining for decades. Just look at the Rust Belt. We have recovered some, but some sectors like electronics are still dominatd by Asia.
The primary culprit is China. They demand foreign companies turnover their intellectual property to the Chinese government. Unscrupulous multinational companies make this pact to maximize their profits on the backs of Chinese slave labor and to the detriment of American workers. American jobs are lost, but even more dangerous is risking dependence on China in critical sectors.
Past presidents have been unwilling to tackle this grave threat. China has a long term strategy to become the world’s dominant economy and military power, so they are willing to endure short term pain. China’s economy is about two thirds the size of our economy, but with about five times as many people, they are stretched thin. China is not concerned about making broadband available to their citizens; they struggle daily just to feed them.
China projects a strong stoic face, but fluctuations in their economy cause more hardships than they will ever admit. Convinced China has all the answers in their fortune cookies, the media just reports the communist party line.
Much larger and more resilient than pundits will admit, it will take a lot more than tariffs on about 2.3% of our economy to bring it down. Certain sectors may face short term challenges, but we cannot allow China to continue stealing our ingenuity and manufacturing; and lock us out of some of their markets. Thankfully President Trump recognizes the larger long range danger and is standing up to the orient dragon. The media can call it a trade war with great risk and minimal benefit, but Trump is realigning our economic and political relationship with China. That relationship will only remain friendly has long as America is stronger.
The USA should no longer acquiesce to Chinese bullying no matter how polite. We need a better trade balance through greater access, but more importantly we need to preserve our intellectual property and pressure China to end oppressive labor practices. This is not just about money, but also strategic to maintain a healthy balance of power in Asia. Little reported from the recent G7 Summit, Japan agreed to buy a lot more American agriculture products to ease losses by American farmers from products targeted by Chinese tariffs.
Japan is not making that new trade deal because they really love our products. Japan knows the very real Chinese threat, so they are quietly supporting Trump in this fight. He must win or they are on the front lines
Don’t expect the media to come around, but watch for China to collude with Democrats to defeat Trump in 2020. That’s the only way they can win.
“And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another.” Leviticus 25:14