Wednesday, September 5, 2018

There is No China Card Problem!

Over at Target Liberty, at the post, US Military Blocks Proposed Railway Linking North and South Korea, a reader posts:
This whole thing is currently mucked up because of the ongoing issues with China re: trade. As long as NK remains a Chinese playing chip to threaten the West and those issues are unresolved - there will not be any lasting peace between North and South Korea - it's just that simple.
Well, it is not that simple. If China wants to put up trade barriers and subsidize certain products shipped to the United States, this is a gain for US consumers.

Subsidized products mean that US consumers will have goods at cheaper prices.

Further, if China puts up trade barriers, it means some US manufacturers and labor may switch to producing goods for US consumers, another plus for this side of the Pacific.

The idea that the US needs to "battle" China because of these measures is absurd. Such Chinese measures will weaken the Chinese economy and shrink it but it makes more goods available for US consumers---the ultimate goal of all production is increased goods for consumers.

No trade war needs to initiated with China. Unilateral free trade against clueless mercantilists is the only way to go.

Ending the battle by removing all tariff and other barriers is the only sound step and it adds the bonus prospect that China will not see the need of using North Korea as a pawn in a silly trade war.

-RW  

1 comment:

  1. "Further, if China puts up trade barriers, it means some US manufacturers and labor may switch to producing goods for US consumers, another plus for this side of the Pacific."

    Is that really the right way to think about this? Do US manufacturers care who their buyers are? I would have thought that Chinese barriers would simply reduce the number of buyers for US goods, which could lead to US manufacturers having to lower their prices.

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