It is a mystery to me why... it is regarded as a sign of Japanese strength and American weakness that the Japanese find it more attractive to invest in the U.S. than Japan. Surely it is precisely the reverse - a sign of U.S. strength and Japanese weakness. = Milton Friedman
“For example, what would be a moral case for third-party interference, by either the Japanese Diet or the U.S. Congress, with an exchange between me and Toyota Motor Corp.?”
The world doesn’t consist of nothing but morally equal economic actors. It consists of nation-states. And some of those nation-states are a national security problem for the United States.
China would be one. Walter Williams may think it’s fantastic that China is getting rich by exporting to the US, while the US borrows from China. I don’t agree.
Free trade is fine among countries with similar political and economic systems. Free trade with Canada is fine.
Free trade with China and Russia?
I’ll pass.
I did business for years with a unit of Sumitomo. They lost money for a decade selling my product cheaper than they were buying it for. Eventually they killed the competition and then bought my operation out. Now they are the sole provider and have made it so hard for competitors to get into the field that they own it.