(01-29-2018, 09:38 AM)The Real Marty Wrote:

(01-29-2018, 07:27 AM)jj82284 Wrote: you're absolutely right, it's not free market capitalism.  That is the challenge when operating with International free trade.  You can expose your domestic Markets to products that have been made artificially cheap by unfair, dishonest or underhanded practices of a foreign state.  

As for targeted Tariffs: Currency Manipulation, Administrative barriers, Subsidies, Tariffs etc. on behalf of the importing country can cause an unfair advantage.  In some cases this can cut into the profit margin of our domestic producers, in some cases that can create an environment where the simple production COST of the domestic producer is greater than the retail price of the imported Goods.  That's the case for these specific trade actions.  If you dispute the effect of foreign subsidies on these particular sectors then that would be grounds for criticism, but viewing any state action out of hand as impure is an idealogical argument not a factual one.

I'm still baffled by the idea that somehow it would be better, for me or for the economy as a whole, if things cost more. 

You can call it whatever you want- currency manipulation, subsidies, whatever.  I call it a discount.  I don't see how that's a bad thing.  Why should I want imported goods to cost more?   If I pay less for certain things, I have more money left over to buy other things.   What's the problem?

Sure, as I said, you can race to the bottom by aligning your self with immoral actors. That's your call. I would not permit it, especially when it's at the expense of domestic producers that we hold to higher standards of behavior. You might as well argue that it's ok for you to buy a kidney ripped from a Chinese dissident political prisoner on the open market. Your participation reveals your ethics or lack thereof.

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