They buy weapons from us because they cannot afford to RD their own. They buy from us because we are reasonably a reliable ally that will not cut their weapons off or attack them in the future. China is not a reliable ally, but a strategic competitor. Turning over all our steel manufacturing, rechargeable battery manufacturing, component electronics manufacturing, etc, etc, etc is bad enough. Just for your edification, this last war with Iraq the US literally ran out of ammo because we had only one factory that made military grade ammo. Luckily we brought from Taiwan and South Korea to make up for the temporary shortfalls. This is just fighting insurgents and getting National Guard units up to standard. Imagine if Iran decided to attack our stretched out forces in Iraq. Manufacturing is not just about the bottom line, it is also about strategic needs and contingencies. War is too important to be left to the politicians ...... and businessmen.
We are not the only source.
They buy from us because we are reasonably a reliable ally that will not cut their weapons off or attack them in the future.
We do flip on our allies from time to time. Ever hear of Serbia? They were the eastern block government in our pocket throughout the cold war. Ever hear of Panama?
Substitute the word supplier for the word ally in your argument and you will be closer to the truth. But that puts us in essentially the same position in the weapons market as China's occupies with respect to consumer goods - reliable cheap supplier of quality goods.
China is not a reliable ally, but a strategic competitor.
Then we had better hurry up and get rid of our trade barriers so the dead weight in our manufacturing sector can be cleared out. If we are going to be strategic competitors then we had better start competing instead of whining about how free trade (which is really just code for progress) is driving wages down.
Turning over all our steel manufacturing, rechargeable battery manufacturing, component electronics manufacturing, etc, etc, etc is bad enough. Just for your edification, this last war with Iraq the US literally ran out of ammo because we had only one factory that made military grade ammo.
It is our protectionism, our unions, our regulations, our taxes, and our trial bar that drive manufacturing away. The American steel industry is one of the most heavily protected industries on Earth and has enjoyed protection since the republic was founded (one of Hamilton's pet projects). Yet for some reason American steel can't compete with foreign steel. The reason is because protectionism makes industries weak.
Manufacturing is not just about the bottom line,
Yes it is.
...it is also about strategic needs and contingencies.
That's politics. Manufacturing is about trade. Just tend to the bottom line and everything else will follow - if it's really worth having.
War is too important to be left to the politicians ...... and businessmen.
Trade is too important to be left to politicians and generals.
BTW when has war ever not been the province of politicians? And why would the solution be to get rid of trade? Why not just get rid of the politicians?
When it is cheaper to mine the ore here, ship it to China, refine/cast it in China, and then ship it back here - with the tariffs incurred - you know that US steel workers are simply getting paid too much. US steel unions killed the US steel industry, much like the UAW killed GM, Chrysler, and are trying to kill Ford.
rechargeable battery manufacturing
You can thank the EPA and the US Federal Government for that. The requirements for production are so stringent that it simply is not possible to build them here, regardless of cost. So they're made elsewhere.
this last war with Iraq the US literally ran out of ammo because we had only one factory that made military grade ammo
Yes, because the corrupt leaders in Congress choose to spend trillions on worthless health care bills, hundreds of billions on giveaway mortgages and benefits, the war on poverty, etc. rather than maintain our own military supply depots.
These problems aren't from free trade; they're from misplaced priorities. In the case of steel, the priorities of the unions and the workers are like the UAW - squeeze the companies until they're dead, never compromise. In the case of batteries, the fear that anything may hurt you at any time means the industry is shut down. And our leaders would rather pay $100+ million a mile for light rail to nowhere than spend the money for munitions that "would never be used".