Poll: Do you think the US should have more trade barriers?

[Infohawk]

Maybe I'm imagining things but I feel like there's been a shift in P&N towards advocating for trade barriers. It seems like this position has becoming more popular with the declining economy.

So, what do you think? Should the US implement more trade barriers? Less? Keep them the same?

I don't think we should have barriers with other developed democracies like Canada, Japan or Europe (unless it's to retaliate for their barriers.) I think we should have barriers with economies like China who are under authoritarian rule and seem to have unfair trade practices.

On the other hand, I think people forget one of the main reasons to not have trade barriers.
Countries who are economically interdependent tend not to fight with each other. It seems to have worked with Europe for the past 60 years and for much of the world more recently.

 

[manimal]

I voted yes but would only advocate barriers for countries or entities that manipulate the costs of said goods with either currency manipulation or subsidies that price fair competition out of the equation.

I personally do think this is a conversation to have. If we look at globalization it has benefited many bringing entire countries out of poverty. I would like to see globalization now bring the middle class out of mediocrity...

Let me tell you a little story...My nephew figured out a way to sell raw mats for his products to china and get a sweetheart deal in the finished product at below what he sold the raw mats for since China decided that it wanted to subside that industry at the moment..

personally I think China is a bubble economy at its core but that is for another thread..

 

[lothar]

Whatever happened to "Most Favored Nation" status?
I remember Bill Clinton granted that to China twice during his term.

I didn't hear anything about "Most Favored Nation" status during Bush Jr. or Obama's term.
Has "Most Favored Nation" status gone the way of the dodo bird?

 

[CanOWorms]

While I dispute the assertion that European countries are developed democracies, they also engage in some of the most severe unfair trade practices. France is an ideal example. Situations involving Danone, Yoplait (just recently), Airbus, and Arcelor are just a few of the most prominent international trade issues.

 

[Infohawk]

Whatever happened to "Most Favored Nation" status?
I remember Bill Clinton granted that to China twice during his term.

I didn't hear anything about "Most Favored Nation" status during Bush Jr. or Obama's term.
Has "Most Favored Nation" status gone the way of the dodo bird?

My understanding is that once China was admitted to the WTO it became irrelevant. The idea was that China was supposed to open up in response. China may officially be an open market but many people seem to agree that it has defacto barriers to foreigners.

 

[Doppel]

Something akin to this. There does probably need to be a proactive approach to limiting the trade deficit and jobs outsourcing. The US is a massive economy, it does not necessarily suffer from the same weaknesses that a tiny country would encounter if it began to put protections in. This is a complex topic with experts opposed to one another, but whatever has been going on for the past few decades has not been working for the typical American.

 

[wuliheron]

A bunch of politicians haggling over prices isn't going to help if the sad truth is nobody wants to buy our shit and the companies selling us all this overseas crap are often owned by Americans. No, we need a more direct approach and that means gunboat diplomacy! Forcing them to buy our crap is the only way to save American jobs.

 

[Zebo]

I would not give up absolute advantage for comparative advantage. Even god father of free trade said so. Message has been perverted or rather first part intentionally forgotten, to decimate our middle class for elite profiteering and personal and governmental debt at every level.

Basically if you want things like safe workplaces, 40 hr weeks, Saturday BBQ's, clean environment and whatnot that's all a cost of doing business and I would only free trade with those who share similar costs unless it's something we need.

There are political structures you could add too but I don't think they are needed. I mean we are not going to stop importing oil anytime soon from Sharia Saudi.

 

[BoberFett]

We simply need reciprocal trade. "Free trade" where we open borders freely while our "partners" slap huge tariffs on US made goods is a joke.

 

[Anarchist420]

I'd like every country but the U.S. to have protectionist tariffs. That way, we'd have even larger trade deficits, a stronger currency, and better goods that are cheaper. Imagine if Reagan hadn't installed high tariffs and quotas on superior, super-inexpensive Japanese goods.

If Jean Marie Lepen wins in France, they're going to be sending us some good, inexpensive products from their trade surplus.

 

[soccerballtux]

if the way we traded was like with dealextreme where the consumer reaps all the benefit, it's less a problem

 

[Schadenfroh]

I support Obama's current position of expanding free trade to select countries:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2125134

 

[Hacp]

There needs to be something done about the transfer of technology to other nations. We can't have GE building Jet engines in China, then 5 years later, China steals the designs and starts building their own state of the art Jet engines.

 

[amyklai]

I think the US doesn't necessarily need trade barriers.

For the most part, the US needs incentives to keep capital in the country instead of flowing out by offshoring to developing countries where gain is thought to be had "the simple way" (simply because labor cheaper, no additional thinking required).

Also, the US needs a change of approach. For a pretty long time before the crisis, everybody could see that there was a trade deficit and for everybody with half a brain it was obvious that this trade deficit was unsustainable in the long run. But because of the housing bubble, extremely cheap money, and other short term effects that made it look like money was being generated, people decided to keep dancing on the sinking ship, because the band was still playing and because it was fun.

After the crisis, the attitude has changed somewhat and I think it will reap results sooner or later - the USA still has more than enough education, talent, money, power & influence to pull itself out of the hole it's sitting in right now.

But just like the trade deficit didn't immediately wreak havoc, a refocussing of the economy also will take time to show effects.

And in any case, the world will never be the same as it was in the 90's or before. China, Brazil etc. are catching up big time and other countries will follow in their footsteps.

These peoples will participate in global wealth. They will need and they take their share of resources like oil, gas, copper, iron etc. So, no matter how well the "old industrialized economies" do, they will never again be able to monopolize this planet's resources in the way they could before the rest of the world "woke up".

 

[werepossum]

Whatever happened to "Most Favored Nation" status?
I remember Bill Clinton granted that to China twice during his term.

I didn't hear anything about "Most Favored Nation" status during Bush Jr. or Obama's term.
Has "Most Favored Nation" status gone the way of the dodo bird?

Congress granted China permanent "Most Favored Nation" status. It was Clinton's term, but a Republican-led Congress.

 

[Infohawk]

India is hit by yet another corruption scandal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12769214

By doing trade with corrupt countries, does it rub off on the US?

 

[CanOWorms]

India is hit by yet another corruption scandal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12769214

By doing trade with corrupt countries, does it rub off on the US?

Who would we trade with then?

 

[Infohawk]

So, no matter how well the "old industrialized economies" do, they will never again be able to monopolize this planet's resources in the way they could before the rest of the world "woke up".

The rest of the world only "woke up" after continued prodding and pressure from the old industrialized economies. India and China were desperate to have planned economies for the longest time.

 

[lothar]

Congress granted China permanent "Most Favored Nation" status. It was Clinton's term, but a Republican-led Congress.

Interesting...
I have always automatically assumed that it was an award unilaterally given either by the US Dept of Commerce or the US Trade representative to a particular nation(in this case, China).

Thanks for the correction.