Trade Wars Brewing In Economic Malaise

Washington Post ^ | Friday, May 15, 2009 | Anthony Faiola and Lori Montgomery

[dr_who]

Is this what the first trade war of the global economic crisis looks like?

Ordered by Congress to "buy American" when spending money from the $787 billion stimulus package, the town of Peru, Ind., stunned its Canadian supplier by rejecting sewage pumps made outside of Toronto. After a Navy official spotted Canadian pipe fittings in a construction project at Camp Pendleton, Calif., they were hauled out of the ground and replaced with American versions. In recent weeks, other Canadian manufacturers doing business with U.S. state and local governments say they have been besieged with requests to sign affidavits pledging that they will only supply materials made in the USA.

Outrage spread in Canada, with the Toronto Star last week bemoaning "a plague of protectionist measures in the U.S." and Canadian companies openly fretting about having to shift jobs to the United States to meet made-in-the-USA requirements. This week, the Canadians fired back. A number of Ontario towns, with a collective population of nearly 500,000, retaliated with measures effectively barring U.S. companies from their municipal contracts -- the first shot in a larger campaign that could shut U.S. companies out of billions of dollars worth of Canadian projects.

[dr_who]

No fool like an audacious fool

[JohnBrowdie]

looks like he found a backdoor means of torpedoing free trade after all . . . and he didn’t have to actually touch NAFTA. he just bought a good portion of the private economy, and when washington pays the bills, washington calls the shots, and individuals lose some portion of their individual liberty.

[Para-Ord.45]

I`m starting to think Barry is insane.

First he criticizes himself for massive over spending and now he wants to ignite a trade war with the rest of the world! ?

[dr_who]

How much economic growth do you get by forcing people to replace perfectly good pipe fittings? Answer: none. It’s just redistribution of wealth and stupid misallocation of resources.

[dr_who]

If he is insane, he’s not alone.

[Question_Assumptions]

Of course being a governor of a state that borders Canada and a governor who has dealt with Canadian companies wasn’t suitable experience for being Vice President.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Canadian companies openly fretting about having to shift jobs to the United States to meet made-in-the-USA requirements

Goes back to the old question:

Which is more American - the Honda built in Ohio or the Ford built in Canada? The BMW made in South Carolina or the Chevy built in Mexico?

So a Canadian company will set up a small manufacturing facility in America to do finish work on the products made in Canada so it can be labeled "Made in America". Is that all it takes to make the Obamassiah happy?

And it's REAL SMART of the Slavery Party (the Democrats) to start a trade war with our biggest trading partner, and our biggest source of imported oil. Not to mention the country which shares the longest border with us... REAL smart!

[CowboyJay]

Note to any country threatening retaliation in any kind of ‘trade war’ with the US:

You WILL lose. We have all the ammo.

Other countries look after their own econimic interests. High time we did the same.

[dr_who]

We have all the ammo.

If we ever did, not for very much longer. Obama and people like yourself will see to that.

[CowboyJay]

How much of our funny money do the ChiComs 'own'? What percentage of Asia's GDP is still dependent upon the US market?

Trade war? Make mine a double.

[dr_who]

Poppycock. We can’t defeat China by not trading with them. It’s not even in our interests to do so. As for the rest of Asia, what do you have against them?

[CowboyJay]

I’d say it’s very much in our interest not to let China take the mantle as the world’s top economy, wouldn’t you? If we were to say... default on our t-bonds (or monetize them into oblivion) and put up some barriers in the next 5 years or so, it could keep China at bay and keep us off the rocks for quite awhile.

As for the rest of Asia, it’s not so much that I have anything ‘against them’. It’s just a simple fact of life that the higher percentage of the world’s GDP we produce, the better able we are to defend our interests and our way of life.

Have you something against us staying #1 indefinitely?

[dr_who]

I’d say it’s very much in our interest not to let China take the mantle as the world’s top economy, wouldn’t you?

The assumption you're making is extremely naive. We can't stop China from growing their economy. What we can do is stop our economy from growing, and one way to do that is by engaging in trade wars.

If we were to say... default on our t-bonds (or monetize them into oblivion) and put up some barriers in the next 5 years or so, it could keep China at bay and keep us off the rocks for quite awhile.

Are you George Soros? You sound like a nut.

As for the rest of Asia, it’s not so much that I have anything ‘against them’. It’s just a simple fact of life that the higher percentage of the world’s GDP we produce, the better able we are to defend our interests and our way of life.

Capitalism isn't a zero sum game. Somehow keeping other people poor is not going to make us rich.

Have you something against us staying #1 indefinitely?

Certainly not. I just take exception to the people who really think that we can be #1 by shooting ourselves in the foot.

[Lurker]

We have all the ammo.

Really?

Where is the worlds largest nickel mine?

What country has the largest reserves of uranium?

Which country has the largest gold mine?

Do you have any idea who Smoot and Hawley were?

[hedgetrimmer]

And it's REAL SMART of the Slavery Party (the Democrats) to start a trade war with our biggest trading partner, and our biggest source of imported oil.

Let me let you in on a little secret. The 'slavery' party is the "free traders" in both parties who have institutionalized slavery in global trade and enriched communists and dictators who might have been rejected by their countrymen if they had been left alone so communism could follow its course of self destruction. Now we have transnational businesses whose business plans rely on slave labor and illegal immigration for profit.

Let's speak the truth about this please. Supporting the American domestic economy is the right, the anti-communist and anti-global slavery thing to do.

[hedgetrimmer]

You don’t read the papers. Our economy HAS stopped growing and it’s due to “free trade” and institutionalized “trade favoritism” under global trading rules to communist countries like China and their slave labor.

[CowboyJay]

Are you George Soros? You sound like a nut.

Soros is a nut. Globaloney is his baby. You're carrying water for him. Bravo.

In capitalism, as anything else, you're either the lead dog, or the view sucks. If you think US nationalists are a buzzkill, I sincerely doubt you'll be happy when the ChiComs are holding the cards. Platitudes and academic arguments don't mean jack to the Chinese. They play to win.

[CowboyJay]

You obviously don't play poker (well, at any rate.

It's not the hand you're dealt that counts. It's how you play your cards. As of right now, we still account for about 25% of the world GDP. That will change if we keep doing business your way.

I know damn well who Smoot and Hawley were. You know who P.T. Barnum was?

[dr_who]

No hope for people like yourself. But then there are far more Obama drones out there, and there’s no cure for them either. See ya.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Let's speak the truth about this please. Supporting the American domestic economy is the right, the anti-communist and anti-global slavery thing to do.

OK, so do I buy the Ohio-built Honda, or the Canadian built Ford? How about Chrysler, given that they are partially owned by FIAT? How about GM given that they are partially owned by the State (i.e.: Communist in nature)?

Which is more American: the BMW made in South Carolina or the Chevy built in Mexico?