1. In any financial transaction, buyers will seek the lowest price possible. At the same time, sellers will look for the highest price possible.
2. An employment arrangement involves a "buyer" (the employer) and a "seller" (a worker).
3. One of the simple realities of an economy is that a worker will usually demand far more for his/her services than he/she would ever pay another worker for the same services.
Point #3 underlies almost every policy decision that is made by a government in a modern, advanced country like ours where labor costs are extremely high. "Free trade" gives us the ability to do things in a foreign trade situation that we'd never be allowed to do under the law right here in the U.S. -- namely, paying workers less than our statutory minimum wages, buying products that are made in factories that violate every environmental standard under our laws and fail to meet minimal worker safety standards, etc.
Amazing how the quality of the product never enters your calculations. I have found most Asian products are very inferior.