U.S. Toughens Its Position on China Trade

Bitch, bitch, bitch. People love to bitch and moan about America's trade deficit with China.

For years, President Bush has avoided confronting Beijing with sanctions or legal challenges to its trade practices, preferring to use diplomacy to press China to bring down its trade deficit with the United States, now at $232 billion. But these days, the conciliatory approach looks as if it is being reconsidered, if not discarded.

Don't blame the government for something you did to yourself.

At work we were talking about Harbor Freight, known for selling tools made primarily in China and India, and I rolled my eyes. An old machinist tries to convince me that while they do sell a lot of crap, there are some real finds there. "Some of their tools can't be beat for the money." He's talking about buying their cheap imported tools, replacing the foreign bearings with American made ones, replacing blades on power saws with domestic ones, and having a quality tool. Yes, that may be so. My problem is with the hypocrisy of it.

If you are concerned with America losing jobs to cheap Chinese labor, like the individual I was talking with claims to be, then don't buy imports. What is the real cost of that nail gun? Is it yet another family in Milwaukee wondering if they can pay their bills this month? What is the value of a Chinese made band saw? Is it for slicing up the value of American labor?

We don't need a government to do our thinking for us on this one. We don't need heavy sanctions and tariffs. We need a consumer who takes a few seconds to look at the freaking label and think beyond the cash (or credit) in the wallet at the moment.