(01-26-2018, 09:01 AM)The Real Marty Wrote:

(01-25-2018, 11:18 PM)flsprtsgod Wrote: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, for instance, are just fine.

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And yet our primary economic adversary has neither free markets nor free trade, so why grant them free access to our market at the same time they undercut us with immoral busuness behaviors? Cheap stuff at the cost of our moral fabric.

First of all, I don't think restricting imports will have any effect at all on the way other countries operate. 
Secondly, the title of this thread, "Addressing a real problem..."  I don't think it's a problem.
Thirdly, I don't want to pay more for everything just to pressure the Chinese into acting more like us. 

Here's what I'm saying to both you and Eric-

Let's look at the actual effect of importing goods from overseas.   Eric's tires, for example.  Suppose I have $1,000 to spend, and I can either buy Eric's domestically produced tires for $1,000, or I can buy imported tires for $800.   What do I do with the other $200?  I might go out to eat, which benefits the restaurant industry, and I might buy a pair of sneakers, which benefits the local shoe store, and I might go to the movies, which benefits the local movie theater.   Eric's tire store might he hurt, but the guy who is selling the imported tires would be helped.   The net result is, I've actually helped the economy by buying those imported tires.  

But let's imagine we do restrict import of tires from countries where we don't like their politics or their lack of regulation.   Would you be willing to allow German or British tires into the US?   What if those German or British companies source their tires from China?  

And what about the substantial proportion of people in the United States who are barely making ends meet?  What if they need new tires?  Do you force them to buy expensive domestically produced tires just to protect Eric's job? 

But back to your idea of using trade policy to change the behavior of other countries.   You really want to in effect tax the US citizenry in an effort to change the way the Chinese do things?  It won't work.   It will only hurt the US economy and further impoverish poor people, both here and abroad.