Here are some of Donald Trumps recent statements on trade:
"We will keep the car industry in Michigan and we're going to bring car companies back to Michigan." Jim Note: Popular to unemployed autoworkers in Michigan. It may be possible to do this but Michigan would have to import autoworkers from other countries and exempt them from all US and state labor and union protections to work on autos equivalent to those imported. Else, Michigan can adopt the Deep South auto attraction policy and forever gift foreign auto makers with former plantation Dixie Land tax free and pass state laws effectively exempting US workers from US labor standards and protections. If it sells to Dixie workers, idled from the textile exodus for cheaper labor abroad and if it sells to CEOs of foreign auto firms, it might sell to Michiganders.
"They [Japan] have cars coming in by the millions and we sell practically nothing. When Japan thinks we mean it, they'll stop playing around with the yen. They're almost as good as China." Jim Note: Leaders in Japan and China have no respect for Obama. The president spied on Japanese officials, per Edward Snowden, and he lets China economically devastate US companies via cybertheft of trade secrets. The administration's lack of diplomatic, economic and military deterrents in the South China Sea is further evidence China has no respect for Obama. Hillary Clinton is compromised on the issue of China cybertheft due to her thousands of deleted emails, thank you Congressman Trey Gowdy, and mishandling of classified information. Further, Hillary's supporters cyber attacked the computer systems of Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders. This really reeks of Watergate. Clinton, compromised by dishonesty and lies, may narrowly defeat Bernie for the nomination so she did not have to resort to cyber attack on her opponent, whom I consider a brave and courageous man to take on the Clinton/Carville slime machine.
"The devaluations of their currencies by China and Japan and many, many other countries, and we don't do it because we don't play the game." Jim Note: I think Donald Trump will inject new thinking and diplomatic approaches into Foggy Bottom. I have former Secretary of State James Baker's book The Politics of Diplomacy in mind.
"We don't win at trade, China, everybody, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam, India, name the country. Anybody we do business with beats us. We don't win at trade." Jim Note: The US economy including the Trump Organization, benefits from globalization and free trade.If unemployed workers are not employable in the new digital economy it is because of poor educational systems that graduate students who want "careers" as Walmart Greeters or as minimum wage workers hoping for wages of $15 per hour or higher. A Trump administration would be advised to invest in a national adult education program to re-train workers so they have skills for the 21st century.
A final Jim Note: We have these and many other statements by GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on US trade policy. Other GOP presidential candidates are addressing this issue. Clinton and Sanders also oppose free trade and globalization though they have records of supporting each. Apparently they both oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership Obama negotiated and is stalled in Congress due to opposition by Democratic "leadership."
In the main, the political campaign is highlighted by a total lack of understanding on US trade and foreign policy and US economic policy. What ideas are communicated are simplistic and, perhaps, that is the way it has to be. I witnessed Trade Ambassador Froman and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack given police protection at their San Francisco Commonwealth Club presentation on TPP. Voters, San Franciscans and elsewhere around the country, have their minds already made that US trade deals are "lousy" and negotiated by "political hacks." These are not ideas and language originated by Donald Trump. They come from real people who are angry and distrust their government for "sending jobs overseas" and "exploiting foreign workers with low (non-union) wages," "promoting a GMO agenda," and a host of ills so bizarre I would be embarrassed to report them. Voters, though, are not too embarrassed to angrily and violently shout them with effect to political and corporate leaders. Considering the foreign and economic policy failures of Obama, I am thinking of the late Walt Kelly who so brilliantly placed the thought cloud above Pogo: "We have meet the enemy and He is us." Our politicians are telling us what we are telling them.
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Jim Patterson reporting from Washington DC
March 21, 2016
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