Trade with China a two-way street
Two decades ago, when the U.S. automobile and steel industries were decimated by “free trade” with Japan, policy wonks and government officials basically said the solution for Americans was to become more like the Japanese. The Asians were portrayed as harder workers, better team players, operating in a system where labor and management were not as adversarial. This, we were told, was the model to follow. And, we were also told, it was finally time to let go of those old “rust belt” jobs, which had become pass?, in favor of the high-tech jobs and training that represented the future.
Of course, the great Japanese economy went into the tank quite a few years ago and is no longer hailed as the blueprint it once was. Enter China, the new 800-pound “free trade” gorilla on the economic block, with its cheap-labor population of more than 1 billion and its desire to become a major player in international trade. The prospect of competing with a tidal wave of low-cost Chinese goods is sending shudders through what remains of the U.S. garment and manufacturing industries.
But at the same time its mouth is frothing at the prospect of selling billions of dollars of additional goods to U.S. consumers, China has refused to adjust its currency in the sort of way that makes “free trade” the type of “fair trade” under which American workers have a fighting chance to compete. The change would make our products less expensive in China, and theirs more expensive here.
The U.S. government shouldn’t tiptoe around this important issue, nor should it accept any double-talk from China concerning the matter.