If on the one hand, countries with lower wage rates are allowed to simply sell their wares here with no restrictions or obligatory regulatory oversight, and on the other hand, US producers must pay much higher wages, comply with far more regulation than the foreign competition, and pay a higher taxation rate than that assessed in the foreign country, then of course there is a distinct tilt to the playing field.
And that is not “free trade” at all. All the trade goes from the country with the lower costs of production to the country with the higher costs of production, and there is no reciprocity.
Concur. I’m all for free trade, but when an agency inspection in-country averages over 3 weeks and an average agency inspection out of country average 4 days then it is definitely not an even playing field.
So let’s get rid of the tilt, and have real free trade. If Americans choose to overtax and over regulate our industries, that’s not any other country’s fault, it’s our own.
“then of course there is a distinct tilt to the playing field”
There’s always going to be an uneven playing field. Even if we banned all foreign goods entirely, the regions and states will lower wages would be able to produce cheaper goods than other parts of the country, and the field would still be uneven. As long as there is competition, there will be losers. Try as I might, I can’t find “level the playing field” under the description of the federal government’s duties listed in the Constitution either.
“All the trade goes from the country with the lower costs of production to the country with the higher costs of production, and there is no reciprocity.”
All trade, by definition, involves reciprocity.