On March 29th 2000, President Clinton advocated for granting China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) paving the way for China to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO) stating that this would be a great deal for America. "We do nothing," Clinton said. "They have to lower tariffs. They open up telecommunications for investment. They allow us to sell cars made in America in China at much lower tariffs. They allow us to put our own distributorships there. They allow us to put our own parts there. We don't have to transfer technology or do joint manufacturing in China any more. This a hundred-to-nothing deal for America when it comes to the economic consequences."
While the idea of normalizing trade with China and facilitating their economic growth in order for our economy to take advantage of the emerging market there was promising, this held inherent risks that have come to fruition. Over the long term, stimulating a nation with over a billion people, just coming of age, ready to reap the rewards of new and exciting products made in America, made all the sense in the world at that time. It was believed that our strong economy could withstand the short term costs of helping China’s economy grow. But, like the drug addict that decides to take over the territory of the drug dealer and drive him out of business, so has the little engine that could, as China dominates our growing trade deficit.
The forced transfer of technology by China to US businesses located within China, China’s brazen theft of intellectual property and wanton patent infringement costs the US economy over $600 billion annually. This added to our almost $400 billion trade imbalance adds up to a $1 trillion hit to the US economy annually. Our government has acquiesced to China’s blatant and unfair trade over the years, allowing the Chinese economy to grow at our, and the world’s expense. Our policies of appeasement and simply grousing about our trade imbalance without imposing any consequences for China's behavior have simply emboldened the Chinese government. For years China has thumbed their noses at the world while they steal technology and violate patents while their economy expands. The growth China is experiencing coupled with their unrestrained disregard of any pollution standards, has made China the world’s greatest polluter.
It is long past time to confront China economically and President Trump is more than justified to enact tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to force them to engage in fair trade. Unfair tariffs by other countries often force US companies to move manufacturing plants to those countries, eliminating jobs in the US and harming our manufacturing sector. Reducing our trade deficit will also go a long way in slowing our ever expanding national debt. The new trade agreements negotiated by President Trump will enable our economy to continue to thrive. Short term harm caused by these tariffs will be overcome by the future benefits by opening new and fair markets for our products. China cannot be allowed to continue to take advantage of the US and our companies with impunity. Stand strong and withstand the hardships in the short term to enable us all to prosper and grow in the future.
