The Speaker's Speech on Trade Issues

Although the United States’ trade with China seems beneficial, trade with China, a country which does not care for even its own people, might be a bad decision. The country of China has much lower standards for human rights, meaning that they also have little regard for the wellbeing of people from other countries. Furthermore, China does not permit freedom of speech for its citizens, who have little way of pronouncing their dissatisfaction over political or other matters. Finally, to a certain point, the Chinese people are restricted of their religious rights. Although the U.S. believes that trade with China is beneficial for both parties, commerce with China, whose government has low standards for human rights, particularly those

American’s now quite overwhelmingly agree that this is not the case. Another secondary argument is that the way the United States has dealt with the Chinese in terms of trade has presented many challenges to American employment. Where the United States once dominated manufacturing, China now leads the world by creating goods for extremely low costs, harnessing innovation in manufacturing technology and orchestrating the theft of intellectual properties. Bonvillian makes a point to mention that innovation in Chinese manufacturing is typically understated in discussions, as most are only concerned with the underpayment of the Chinese workforce. A counterpoint to the belief that a nation has to underpay its workers to succeed in manufacturing is the example of Germany. A large number of German citizens work in manufacturing for high wages, creating more expensive goods. The German’s run a trade surplus with China because of their trade strategies. Another great secondary claim is that the United

However, not everything is rose color. As a result of the economic expansion and diversity of goods and services provided by the international trade, prices are more competitive increasing the market competition among producers, which provide domestic consumers with cheaper products.

In the third world countries such as Vietnam, China, South Korea and Taiwan, we are provided with an example of cheap labour. These corporations could now achieve the benefit of the United States consumer market8, while keeping their costs extremely low in offshore production. The working conditions in the United States were poor for centuries, often little to nothing was done unless a tragedy occurred to influence worker rights by the public. This was the issue during the Industrial Revolution and in the late 20th century. In the United states, improvements have been made and these conditions have disappeared, with the privilege in some agricultural areas. Companies from the United States have moved a considerable amount of their factories

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The United States is no longer a leader for manufacturing and China is currently in their ‘Industrial Revolution’ economy. Manufacturing jobs have been exported overseas, that has decline in the leverage to unionize labor (Uchitelle, 2018). The auto industry alone has been drastically hit, with the 2009’s “too big to fail” stimulus package to save the industry.

Americans have been bombarded by new worries in recent days with the war in Libya, unrest in much of the Middle East, and the seemingly endless series of catastrophes in Japan as reported by a recent Gallup poll measuring economic confidence. Added to that, there is a weak job market, increasing fuel prices, and fierce budget battles in Congress, obviously, it is clear the U.S. economy still faces

Although the Chinese apparel manufacturers would lose profitability due to rising cotton prices and competition from emerging countries, they stand to gain the most from the removal of U.S. quotas and tariffs. According to the author, in 2007, 95% of the 20 billion garments Americans made were purchased overseas. Due to U.S. trade barriers, China’s share of the U.S. apparel import was only 30%. Once these barriers were removed, Chinese apparel would flood the American market due to their low cost and dominance in garment manufacturing. Experts predict that China could eventually supply 85% of U.S. apparel. As they increase their market share in the

I think it also works to undo the notions that China was stealing away all our jobs in the apparel arena, because despite the complex protectionist measures taken, America still lost lots of jobs in the textile industry. The author points out that this is because of technology, and that when it really comes down to it, China is losing their textile jobs at a rate faster than the U.S. did (142). She also goes over some of the unintended consequences of the measures such as increased material costs as a result of the increased import barrier (142). She also suggests in this section as an alternative to erecting trade barriers, to instead compensate workers of the losing industries, known as the compensation principle (151). Lastly, with the lift of the measures and quotas by 2005, there will be a new surge in Chinese goods to America, as illustrated in figure 9.1, page 167. China’s percent increase after release from the quotas will measure some 900%.

The Frontline video shows the connection between American job losses and soaring Chinese exports, and the impact Walmart has on the U.S. economy. China is the cheapest, most reliable production platform and the source of up to $25 billion in annual imports to help the Walmart deliver low prices (Smith and Young, 2004). Economists credit Wal-Mart's focus on low costs helping contain U.S. inflation. However, others believe Walmart is the main force driving the overseas shift to China in the production of American consumer goods. The result of lost jobs and a lower standard of living in the United States. The documentary demonstrates the changing relationship between manufacturers and the big-box retailers contributed to the bankruptcy of American businesses and a higher unemployment rate.

China is one of our biggest labor competitors. The reason many US companies go to China for outsourcing is again, because of their workforce’s willingness to operate at low costs. Michael Zimmerman describes this as a disparity in worker “tolerance”. Where the low wages found in China are “far lower than U.S.

One of the greatest international economic debates of all time has been the issue of free trade versus protectionism. Proponents of free trade believe in opening the global market, with as few restrictions on trade as possible. Proponents of protectionism believe in concentrating on the welfare of the domestic economy by limiting the open-market policy of the United States. However, what effects does this policy have for the international market and the other respective countries in this market? The question is not as complex as it may seem. Both sides have strong opinions representing their respective viewpoints, and even the population of the United States is divided when it comes to taking a stand in

A century ago, the textile and clothing industry was a major part of the U.S. economy, but that is no longer the case. Faced with foreign competitors that can produce quality goods at low cost, many U.S. firms have found it increasingly difficult to produce and sell textiles and clothing at a profit. As a result, they have laid off their workers and shut down their factories. Today, most of the textiles and clothing that Americans consume is imported. The United States and China are economically connected through importing and exporting. Due to the United States being in a large deficit with China, we must remain in good terms with China. China has a very fast growing economy due to their advances in technology and other devices. The benefits are on a global perspective, globalization means more job opportunities. China has cheap labor, which allows them to produce at a lower cost. The story of the textile industry raises important questions for economic policy: How does international trade affect economic well-being? Who gains and who loses from free trade among countries, and how do the gains compare to the losses? A low domestic price indicates that the country or in this case China, has a comparative advantage in producing the good and that the country will become an exporter. A high domestic price indicates that the rest of the world has a comparative advantage in producing the good and that the country will become an importer. China is second to Canada as the United

58% of Americans agree that foreign trade has been bad for the U.S. economy because cheap imports have cost wages and jobs here.

“Inside the factory, amid clattering machinery and clouds of sawdust, men without earplugs or protective goggles feed wood into screaming electric saws, making cabinets for stereo speakers” (Goodman and Pan 1). In the article Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart’s Low Prices by Peter Goodman and Philip Pan the mistreatment of the migrant workers in China is evident. These kinds of behaviors are taking place all over in China. The abuse of the Chinese work force has reached terrible proportions and created unlawful conditions because of the demanding economy of China, and other countries’ needs of the goods; however, the companies that are centered in China are working to make sure their workers are treated fairly.