Free Trade - moved from other site

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.

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

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.

matclone,

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.