The Chinese government has no qualms jailing would-be whistle blowers and and enterprising journalists exposing corruption in order to squash dissent among its citizens. Are the benefits of low cost imports really worth the price of freedom and the health risks posed to US consumers? ( Washington Post)
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Enrique Gili is a freelance writer covering Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS), issues for regional magazines in the Southland and beyond. I live in Ocean Beach, San Diego the coolest beach town around.
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When Chinese Citizens Cry Foul, Jail Follows
Category: Food&Drink • Health
Posted on: July 19, 2007 11:15 AM, by EJGili
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Comments
Are you proposing an embargo?
Will eliminating "low cost imports" help anyone here or in China?
How high should the moral purity test be for trading partners?
Or is this a false dichotomy? Because changing the Chinese government is not something that will happen as a result of any political or economic decisions that the US makes and protectionism is disasterous to both the US and China.
These low cost imports are the product of perhaps the greatest migration from substience level poverty in history. It will not be the party leaders that suffer from trade restrictions it will be the farmers who moved to take factory jobs at 6 times the dollar or two a day they were formerly living on.
Posted by: BWV | July 19, 2007 02:06 PM
It's time for a cost/benefit analysis regarding trade with China. From my viewpoint, we are enriching a regime that is hostile to our core values. In return we get potentially dangerous products, the erosion of US manufacturing, etc.
Why do we have an embargo against Cuba but not China? Is Cuba any worse than China in terms of human rights violations? China imprisons or kills dissidents, censors the free exchange of ideas, etc. Is this the sort of behavior we want to support?
Posted by: Wyatt | July 19, 2007 02:09 PM
It's always a 50-50 thing isn't it, doesn't matter what it is. One is for low cost imports and another isn't. I'm against imports from China.
Americans have lost all sense of self sufficiency because of the cheap items that are brought here from China. For what? Any easier life? I say get a life and bring America back to its roots.
Posted by: Sound | July 19, 2007 08:40 PM
Meanwhile back in the real world the US has to import much of what it needs in resources such as oil. In order to buy those things you have to persuade foreigners to buy your goods.
Even if you embargoed China (and India) you would still have to compete with them in the world market. Result you loose and the Chinese pull the close to a trillion $ they hold in US treasury bonds and the US $ tanks.
As long has you have a huge trade deficit and need to import massive amounts of oil you have few good cards to play. This is just the start of the game.
China and India are both growing at about 10% a year. As their nearly two and a half billion people start approaching/demanding US living standards where will they get the natural resources to support that standard of living? Who will they be competing with?
Since a tripling of world oil production seems unlikely, that means the price may go through the roof as demand outstrips supply. US consumption will have to fall.
Posted by: Honest John | July 22, 2007 09:06 PM