Our protectionism against Chinese

The best illustration of a ridiculous the US congress is the tariff complaint on Chinese tires. When Chinese tires are priced out of the U.S. market due to the tariff, they are replaced by tires from other countries like Indonesia, Thailand... at higher prices and less quality (relatively) to the U.S. consumers.  With this tariff, we have not gained a SINGLE job. Some say that we gained a thousand jobs without including those jobs we lost in this deal. The U.S. tire companies do not compete in this low-end tire market. It is a lose-lose situation that we've been accustomed to.

The solar panel issue is another example. Most likely I expect the Chinese companies will open manufacturing plants in the U.S. like Toyota assembling cars here.

Politicians please take note: China is the most efficient manufacturer so far, even though there are other low-wage countries can replace China if labor cost is the only consideration. Again, a $20 per hour wage will never compete with a $2 per hour wage which would never be considered in the U.S. We should abandon such tariff complaints over low-wage manufacturing.

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Afterthoughts

As in last article, free trade can work. It is not feasible to grow sugar cane in Alaska. The tariff threat is the first step to start a trade war, as we cannot afford to make our banker angry.

We can compete with China in manufacturing quality products. Is it ironic that the major buyers of these products are Chinese consumers? It is due to the trustable quality and the boost of their social standing in buying U.S. products. When the Chinese wear the underwear outside, stuffs from Victory’s Secrets could be a hit in China. J

Links

Chinese tires:   

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204301404577171130489514146.html

Solar Panels:     

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/amid-global-trade-fight-a-bright-year-for-solar-use-in-the-u-s/?_r=1