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"The total trade relationship between the US and China was worth $648bn last year, but trade was heavily skewed in China's favour with the US amassing a nearly $310bn deficit." per bbc news regarding Trump's visit to the pacific rim countries. The call was to balance the trade more equitably in favor of the U.S. If this is the strategy to initiate America First, then it's a start. Six hundred fourty eight billion could go a long way to rebuild our infrastructure. Cancelling trade deals struck by previous presidents seems to be an on-going theme. NATO was put on alert, then Canada, now Japan, China, Viet Nam, and South Korea. A trade war - would hurt everyone, but looks like that's the new direction for USA. It's about jobs - deals struck and industries divvied up between lesser states to get them into the free trade global venues, ostensibly in charge of their own economies. USA gave up too much and is feeling the pinch. Time to nuke the playing field.

Questions arise like: what goods and services will be subject to tariffs if they are inequitably unreciprocated in terms of state support behind them and lowered barriers in USA. Raising barriers and investing in USA companies might reverse trends established since the industrial revolution, but there is a correlation between war and thriving economies. If income tanks, the military goes hunting for cheap labor markets and greater control over world economies that favor their regimes. USA is no different. We fought ISIS et al and few countries went into debt to help us, so now the bill is come due. Pay up. Free loading is over, tariffs will cut you out of the mix unless trade barriers and high tariffs against USA do not fall substantially. No more free ride.

The cross-links of supply chains will be looked at hard. Most will probably be exempted as lobbyist from USA industries put in their free speech as money. Most of our car parts are made elsewhere, assembled and sold here by unionized workers and companies. Rare earth, a compound found in Russia, keeps windmills running. Whatever price they want, we will have to pay. It is going to get tricky - who pays, who does not pay to sell their goods and services here. The well is getting low and cash flow is about to stop from a source that has been at full tilt awhile. Good luck getting China to unionize their labor force. Japan is still living in a neo caste system - and may never be willing to cede profits and work hours for their labor force from top to bottom. We'll see if that works, but I doubt any one in USA is going to convince pseudo-feudal systems to convert to a totally free and competitve marketplace. We're pretty neo-feudal ourselves weith that 1% owning 90% of the wealth and capital in USA. Cheap labor used to be the reason for the imbalance, now it is technology as culprit, one machine replaced 10 workers and unemployment become problematic. When are paychecks going to start rising? When?

That just about exhaust my understanding of "free" trade except to say we subsidized it and now want a return on our investments. Rules change and China is not going to be happy. Like UK, Trump is calling for agreements with individual countries vs with the pack, the way UK is divesting itself from the European Union. I may yet live to see Made In China replaced with Made in Great Britain. Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose, apparently, but $350 billion dollars. Let's have a look at the trade imbalances with the EU nations as well, for balance. Those billions are going for armaments and land grabs. Russia is in the background hoping it won't get shut out again. It bullies instead of negotiates, threatens war as an opening bid - it should stop doing that. The days of the iron fist are over - either you tech up or get left behind. That's what we are doing and could do a better job at protecting proprietary information and patents. Walls are a concept Pan-Pacific is about to metaphorically run into head on. And remember, every nation's population is aging and lots of bodies are about to be burned or buried. Before then, who picks up the bill to take care of the elderly - especially for health care. 

Question: How many pan-pacific citizens are currently working in the USA? How many from the European Union, Britain, African nations, Australia, Island nations? How many of us are over there, over there . . . I'm jus sayin'

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Stella L. Crews

11-10-17

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