Thanks for the chart. Here’s their argument (and, as I said, I’m open to more information on this argument), and I’m paraphrasing this argument from various articles I’ve read and interviews I’ve heard through the years:
If we tell American businesses they cannot outsource to other countries, they’ll just move outside the country. And when we tie them down with regulations, for example, we chase them outside the country. When we slow or halt the import of goods to the U.S., we’re limiting the goods that American businesses can use to produce its own goods/services.
That’s “their” argument. How to explain the chart? I don’t know. My gut (yes, there’s my gut talking again) tells me we’re limiting American business by overregulating them.
Interesting discussion, though. I’ll come back to it in a day or so to see where it goes.
So the "expurts" line is that if legislation is passed raising barriers to importing value, the mfgrs will stop importing value, move to a location where they have less political influence to exert, and....try to import value into the US. Hmmm. Not necessarily making an argument for or against outsourcing, but that argument reminds me of an old definition of "expurt". "Ex" = something that has been; "spurt" = drip under pressure, therefore "expurt" = someone who's been a drip under pressure.
Now I certainly do agree with you about over regulation, overexposure to liability, and bizarre tax structure, but that logic from the experts seems strange. Now another anti-protectionist argument that I’ve heard that I find more plausible is that since our manufacturers use imported raw materials and finished goods to make the stuff they export, protectionism would have a negative effect on exports. Whether it would have a net negative effect on overall production is another question.