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Thread: new wave of US protectionism ...

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default new wave of US protectionism ...

    hey, even though tire prices will rise quite a bit, union auto workers will be able to keep their jobs ...

    (snip)"The government of President Barack Obama is deciding what action to take after the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in June that increased imports of Chinese tires were harming American tire producers.

    "I believe the case is neither supported by facts nor does it have valid legal grounds," a deputy commerce minister, Fu Ziying, said at a news conference.

    "It is against basic WTO principles and looks like trade protectionism," Fu said. "We hope the U.S. government will refrain from taking action, for the long-term healthy and stable development of U.S.-Chinese relations."

    In addition to tires, Washington has launched a series of investigations into whether Chinese exporters were dumping goods including wooden bedroom furniture, honey, candles, gift boxes, industrial chemicals and fresh garlic.

    The union that brought the latest case, the United Steelworkers, says Chinese tire exports to the United States more than tripled in the 2004-08 period to 41 million tires a year. The union said that led to the loss of 5,100 American jobs and another 3,000 jobs could be lost this year.

    The union is urging Obama to cap imports of Chinese tires at 21 million per year.

    Fu said that while Chinese tire exports to the United States increased, profits for U.S. tire producers doubled over the same period.

    "So we can conclude that China's exports of tire products to the United States posed no material injury to U.S. tire makers," he said.

    Fu said the case was prompted by the financial problems suffered by U.S. auto and tire producers due to the country's economic crisis.

    "They are blaming China or Chinese products for their decreasing profits," Fu said."(snip)

    from

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    Banned Eric Stoner's Avatar
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    Default Re: new wave of US protectionism ...

    This is one of my biggest fears: That in a cheap and tawdry effort to "buy" votes Obama and the Dems will stumble into a worldwide trade war. One of the prime causes of the Great Depression.

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    Default Re: new wave of US protectionism ...

    ^^^ very true, and unionized US tire makers were also a 'beneficiary' of 1930's US gov't protectionist policy against foreign tires, as well as US gov't 'wage controls' being imposed on small non-union competitors ( and subsequently pricing them out of business). As a result, Firestone and Goodyear enjoyed high profits, and their union workers enjoyed high paying jobs. Of course this came at the cost of falling auto sales as higher than necessary tire prices thus higher than necessary auto prices discouraged many potential buyers ( and subsequently driving small US automaker competitors to Ford, GM and Chrysler out of business).

    Hmm, let's add up the results. Total jobs ... down. Cost of tires / autos ... up. Domestic and foreign competitors ... eliminated. Union worker jobs ... secure. Union worker wages ... up. Corporate profits for Firestone et al ... up. Standard of living of 'average' Americans ... down.

    ~

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    God/dess Deogol's Avatar
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    Default Re: new wave of US protectionism ...

    Except the problem right now under "globalism" and "free trade" is a lot of Americans experiencing a lowered standard of living and bleak future.

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    Default Re: new wave of US protectionism ...

    ^^^ this is essentially the same story as in the 1930's ... for those Americans who weren't working for the gov't ( or a gov't contractor ) or who weren't working in a union industry.

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    Default Re: new wave of US protectionism ...

    We ought to be protecting US workers and not Chinese workers. This guy FU is very far from being objective. So why is his opinion called 'news?"
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: new wave of US protectionism ...

    This guy FU is very far from being objective. So why is his opinion called 'news?"
    ... perhaps because he is a Chinese Government Minister, and in a position to lodge a WTO complaint against the USA ?

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    Default Re: new wave of US protectionism ...

    I deliberated whether or not to resurrect this old thread, but imminent events such as the Google 'pullout' from China and the upcoming gov't ruling that China is a currency manipulator give sufficient reason to at least acknowledge the 'thoughts' emerging from an increasing number of sources ...



    (snip)"In the current phase of relative peace and stability we now enjoy, many are questioning when the next major war may occur and speculation is rampant as to major participants involved. Our concern here is strictly of a financial nature, however, and a discussion of the geopolitical and military variables involved in the escalation of war is beyond the scope of this commentary. But what we can divine from financial history is that "hot" wars in a military sense often emerge from trade wars. As we shall see, the elements for what could prove to be a trade war of epic proportions are already in place and the key figures are easily identifiable.

    Last Wednesday the lead headline in the Wall Street Journal stated, "Business Sours on China." It seems, according to WSJ, that Beijing is "reassessing China's long-standing emphasis on opening its economy to foreign business....and tilting toward promoting dominant state companies." Then there is Internet search giant Google's threat to pull out of China over concerns of censorship of its Internet search results in that country.

    The trouble started a few weeks ago Google announced that it no longer supports China's censoring of searches that take place on the Google platform. China has defended its extensive censorship after Google threatened to withdraw from the country.

    Additionally, the Obama Administration announced that it backs Google's decision to protest China's censorship efforts. In a Reuters report, Obama responded to a question as to whether the issue would cloud U.S.-China relations by saying that the human rights would not be "carved out" for certain countries. This marks at least the second time this year that the White House has taken a stand against China (the first conflict occurring over tire imports).

    Adding yet further fuel to the controversy, the U.S. Treasury Department is expected to issue a report in April that may formally label China as a "currency manipulator," according to the latest issue of Barron's. This would do nothing to ease tensions between the two nations and would probably lead one step closer to a trade war between China and the U.S.

    Then there was last week's Wall Street Journal report concerning authorities in a wealthy province near Shanghai criticizing the quality of luxury clothing brands from the West, including Hermes, Tommy Hilfiger and Versace. This represents quite a change from years past when the long-standing complaint from the U.S. over the inferior quality of Chinese made merchandise.

    On Monday the WSJ ran an article under the headline, "American Firms Feel Shut Out In China." The paper observed that so far there's little evidence that American companies are pulling out of China but adds a growing number of multinational firms are "starting to rethink their strategy." According to a poll conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 38% of U.S. companies reported feeling unwelcome in China compared to 26% in 2009 and 23% in 2008.

    As if to add insult to injury, the high profile trial of four Rio Tinto executives in China is another example of the tables being turned on the West. The executives are by Chinese authorities of stealing trade secrets and taking bribes. There's a touch of irony to this charge considering that much of China's technology was stolen from Western manufacturing firms which set up shop in that country.

    It seems China is flexing its economic and political muscle against the West in a show of bravado. Yet one can't help thinking that this is exactly the sort of arrogance that typically precedes a major downfall. As the Bible states, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.""(snip)

    (snip)"It's evident that as much as China's internal markets are developing, that nation is still heavily reliant on the U.S., whether it wants to formally admit it or not. For this reason, a trade war between the two nations would prove catastrophic and one can see how a trade war between these two economic titans could easily escalate into something far more destructive. Touching on this issue in his latest book, "The Ascent of Money," author Niall Ferguson asks, "Could anything trigger another breakdown of globalization like the one that happened in 1914 [leading to World War I]? The obvious answer is a deterioration of political relations between the United States and China, whether over trade, Taiwan, Tibet or some other as yet subliminal issue."

    He further comments, "Scholars of international relations would no doubt identify the systemic origins of the war in the breakdown of free trade, the competition for natural resources or the clash of civilizations....Some may even be tempted to say that the surge of commodity prices in the period from 2003 until 2008 reflected some unconscious market anticipation of the coming conflict."

    This brings us to the crux of the matter, namely, when can we expect to see the chimera of war rear its ugly head (or heads) once again? In my recent book on the Kress Cycles, "The Stock Market Cycles," I identified the Kress 24-year cycle as the War Cycle since it's bottoming has always coincided with a major outbreak of war. The latest 24-year cycle is scheduled to bottom in 2014 along with the Master Cycle of 120 years. The final "hard down" phase of any cycle is always the last 8-12% of the cycle's length. This means that we can most likely expect to see an eruption of major war sometime in the latter part of 2011 to the year 2012, up until the cycle bottom in 2014. The last of the major yearly cycles, namely the 6-year cycle, will peak in later 2011. This should afford the global economy with more time to rest and recuperate from the effects of the late credit crisis and build up their war chests before the next "big one" begins."(snip)

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