I am all for free trade, but we haven't really ever had true free trade. Other nations constantly play games with protectionist measures or with currency manipulation to make their goods relatively cheaper, and our response is always to cry that we can't impose tariffs or get tough with them in other ways, because that would cause a trade war. This is what Trump is getting at. Contrary to the critics who try to put words in his mouth, he's not proposing that we just cut ourselves off from the rest of the world. He's just saying that we have to use common sense and stand up for our interests first.
I view our situation in terms of supply and demand, and competition. Sure, our labor is expensive relative to much of the rest of the world (due partially to self-imposed overhead related to excessive regulation), but that is only half of the equation. We also are a huge market for consumption of goods from all over the world. As Trump rightly points out, we have "stupidly" been allowing other countries to take our jobs (which in many cases are now being performed by virtual slaves), while simultaneously permitting those countries to sell the resulting goods back to us virtually unrestricted. That's idiotic. The proper response to companies that try to play this game is to slap steep tariffs on their U.S. imports, unless they agree to bring their manufacturing operations back to the U.S. We have to realize that our consumer market is a product that we have to sell, just as much as our labor is. We shouldn't be selling access to that market cheaply, because it is most certainly in high demand, and therefore should carry a high price.
We are in an extremely strong negotiating position when it comes to trade, and I think Trump gets that. For one thing, our agricultural industry is second to none. We feed much of the world. Yet we don't use that leverage to obtain better terms for ourselves. Trade war? I don't think so....I can easily do without a cheap plastic lawn chair or even a new iPhone, but can they do without food?
I agree with you.
I’ve had this thought in the back of my mind, and I think I’m right.
While I do want trade, what’s the worst that could happen if we didn’t have anything near what we have today?
We would have full employment
We would have far more citizens able to purchase at will
Our tax base would return to normal
Those on Welfare could be told to get off their ass and get a job.
The things we buy wouldn’t have to be replaced in six to eighteen months, because our people would make a good quality product
And...
China would lose it’s sugar daddy. It would utterly collapse without our influx of dollars.
Tell me what’s wrong with that.