Posted on 04/10/2005 12:01:11 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer
U.S. trade policy has become foreign policy and has left the United States on the precipice of economic ruin.
That was the message Thursday of a delegation from the American Manufacturing Trade Coalition.
The group, led by Spartanburg textile magnate Roger Milliken, met with editors of The State over concerns about U.S. trade with China and an upcoming congressional vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which would reduce trade barriers in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere.
“The CAFTA vote is a critical vote for the future or our country,” said Milliken, who helped found the lobbying organization two years ago.
It is time for the country to say no more NAFTAs, Milliken said, referring to a similar 1990s agreement with Mexico and Canada.
NAFTA and other trade agreements have led to a massive loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs and increased trade deficits, the coalition says.
The coalition is proposing that the United States place a moratorium on proposed trade agreements and begin a new debate that would lead to fair trade policies.
Others say free-trade deals, while painful, ultimately build stronger economies.
The United States has let foreign policy interests overshadow fair trade — especially in China, said Pat Choate, an economist and consultant to Milliken and the 1996 vice presidential running mate of Ross Perot.
The Chinese, he said, are not at fault. They are merely using the U.S. failure to enforce trade agreements to their advantage.
But as the Chinese and others take advantage of the United States, “we find ourselves in a position where more than half the goods consumed in the U.S. are coming in from abroad,” Choate said.
The U.S. trade deficit last year was $616 billion, and Choate said he believes it will go to $700 billion this year. That kind of deficit cannot be sustained, he said.
The United States has refused to use the tools of the World Trade Organization to bring China and other nations into line, said Augustine Tantillo, the coalition’s executive director
With fair trade policies, the coalition believes that U.S. manufacturers could again compete.
“If we had a decent shake in trade policy, I know we would do well,” said James Copland, chairman of Copland Fabrics in Burlington, N.C.
Tool and die ping!
"But as the Chinese and others take advantage of the United States, “we find ourselves in a position where more than half the goods consumed in the U.S. are coming in from abroad,” Choate said."
And don't forget the businesses in the US that work loopholes around import taxes by channeling goods through Canada. I know one of my former employers did this very thing.
I misread this as a statement from the Association For Manufacturing Technology. http://www.amtonline.org
Pretty serious doom & gloom opening sentence.
The bottom line is American craftsman can't compete on an hourly basis against communist slave labor. Nor should we. The backbone of the America manufacturing sector has been gov't contracts above private contracts. When gloom hits manufacturing it's because the gov't stopped buying. Well, we know that's false, and we're also at war, so where the hell did all the gov't contracts go?
2 Words - Lowest bidder.
For example?
The cheap imports have hurt sales of my American made pianos badly.
Also, it's hard to sell a rebuild job when folks can buy a new piano imported piano, or a keyboard even, for less than rebuilding the old one.
My 25yo business is hurting, the times are changing, that's for sure.
I'd like to know what makes the US stronger by exporting our manufacturing jobs and also what these folk think needs to be "enforced".
I'm no expert on CAFTA, NAFTA but, it seems to me that if we do merge with Canada, Mexico and SA, we have no place to go but down. Since we are the richest country, we will have to give up alot of our wealth and standard of living in order to bring the 3rd world countries up. Eventually things will level out but, we will be a much poorer country because of what we have given up in order for the other countries to pump up their economy.
IMO, the only country that will lose is the US.
I may be wrong but like I said, I am not very knowledgeable in reference to NAFTA, CAFTA.
All true .... fine post.
Goverment procurement is now regulated by the globalist WTO. Under WTO treaties, a nation may not restrict it government procurement to its own nations citizens, or to its own nations producers even if they can provide more cheaply than foreign suppliers. Procurement is a significant part of the CAFTA treaty and the FTAA. Citizens, under "free trade" have lost their right to control their own government procurement.
An example of WTO clout is the fact that US sugar growers are forced to eat the cost of a significant chunk of their production because WTO agrements FORCE the US to import sugar causing an atificial OVERSUPPLY that is killing off our producers.
Also a lawsuit against the state of Massachusetts required them to purchase product from Burma(Myanmar) as part of their state procurement process. Burma of course, a totalitarian dictatorship is well know for its forced labor(slave) camps. But a country that rejected slavery over 150 ago (the US) under "free trade" rules is required to do business with a slave labor dictatorship.
The concept of free trade between nations is not without it attractive qualities, however the theory has been destroyed in practice by Asian merchantilism.
Thanks for the info. Why is our government doing this to us?
Its almost surreal-
Here's another one for you.
Alia,
All protectionist anti-trade pings need to be pre-cleared by Willie Green.
(It's sort of his own special turf!) :-)
Too late for a U-turn....
"Why is our government doing this to us? "
It's Money That Matters Lyrics /Randy Newman/
....
Sonny it's money that matters, hear what I say
It's money that matters in the USA
It's money that matters
Now you know that it's true
It's money that matters whatever you do
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