Free Trade - moved from other site

[Ground&Pound]

Say it costs a US manufacturer $100 to make 1 ton of a product.

Say it costs a Chinese manufacturer $100 to make the same 1 ton of product, but the Chinese government kicks in enough money to reduce their cost to $.50 per ton.

Guess who can sell their product cheaper?

This is one of the reasons the US steel industry almost went extinct.

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It's not a level playing field for free trade if one of the players is getting financial help from their government.

Tariffs are one way to even things out.

[Big]

Say some of what you are saying is true. How is it "illegal" as the author of the article puts it?

[matclone]

I assume we have some sort of trade agreement with China, and the U.S. is claiming China is in violation. Sure can't tell from the article though.

[Big]

matclone,

You are supposed to take author's word for it. Afterall, this is COMMUNIST China, as CNN puts it.

[matclone]

So they're communists, and they're illegal. Got it! That's all we need to know, courtesy of the newspaper that more than carried its weight in helping sell the invasion of Iraq.

[Flop The Nuts]

IMO, communists shoud still never be trusted. Am I a dumb-ass redneck republican, or have I just learned my lesson from a long history of communist killers and liars?

The US props up the domestic steel industry. We should let it die, as we should let all non-competitive industries die.

[Big]

Flop,

Some non-competitive industries are still necessary to keep the country healthy. Sometimes, a subpar skill is better than no skill at all.

Lets take wrestling. If a wrestler is not very strong but has great technique, does that mean that wrestler stops working on his strength completely and concentrates only on technique? I would hope he tries to still be as strong as he can while emphasizing great technique.

[Flop The Nuts]

Hey Big, FWIW, you have become a very civil poster (and actually open to other points of view), and you are one of my favorite people to debate. Or, maybe you were always civil, and I wasn't open to it.

Anyway, I don't think that the government should be in the business of propping up industries, regardless of their accumulative health to the country. If we can't provide a high quality service at a good price, then someone else should.

Flop,

Some non-competitive industries are still necessary to keep the country healthy. Sometimes, a subpar skill is better than no skill at all.

Lets take wrestling. If a wrestler is not very strong but has great technique, does that mean that wrestler stops working on his strength completely and concentrates only on technique? I would hope he tries to still be as strong as he can while emphasizing great technique.

[Big]

Every man can explain his feelings and ideas in a civil manner if given a proper chance. Thank you for the kind words. I love the opposite views that you provide as well.