Oh, I know, you aren’t really against free trade per se. You just demand a “level playing field.” The Chinese cheat by raising tariffs against our goods and subsidizing key industries that they want to dominate. In the process, they destroy our high-paying “manufacturing jobs.” To such statements, I have three objections. …
Trump Misdiagnoses the Problem
President Trump addresses the symptoms of our problems without understanding the real causes. In medical terms, he misdiagnoses both the problem and the cure. Placing the thermometer in the fridge will cause a lower reading but will do nothing for the patient’s fever. Bleeding the patient may have been the standard of care in colonial times for alleviating a chill, but thankfully, modern medicine has advanced. Shutting ourselves off from foreign competition will not miraculously make our industries more productive. The opposite result is almost guaranteed. …
Demanding a level playing field for international trade is a complete waste of time. All nations have and will adopt all manner of benefits to enrich certain politically-connected industries. These benefits are sometimes visible, such as tariffs or quotas against foreign competitors, but often hidden deeply in tax codes, supposed research grants, etc. Such unearned benefits harm one’s own citizens and, therefore, can be opposed only by those citizens who object to being fleeced in order to meet some statistical goal or enrich crony capitalists, which includes organized working men too. In other words, it’s hard enough to get our own house in order without pursuing the fruitless task of trying to get someone else’s house in order, especially since we ourselves are the beneficiaries of their foolishness.
Yes, speaking in economic terms and with economic trade theories, any intervention to counter another country’s economic mistakes are another mistake. OK, so what Trump wants to do is to compound mistake upon mistake. I don’t think he has ever heard of the saying, “When your enemy is making mistakes, don’t get in his way!” If China wants to give us dirt cheap goods at dirt cheap prices while creating the commensurate misery in their society, why stop them? We profit by taking their goods at those prices, don’t we. The three objections mentioned in the article still apply, no matter what Trump and his advisors say, don’t they?