My foreign manufacturing proposal…
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I think a reasonable manufacturing compromise would be to let manufacturers build their products wherever they want, but going forward ANY products have to be built in a factory condition that matches the most basic US standards. No underage employees. No factories belching out 1930s level of pollution (both water and air). The suppliers also have to meet these standards. No Uygher slaves or indentured servants.
If we find your iPhone batteries are sourcing cadmium from a mine in Africa using child slaves? Then it won’t be sold in the US. Period.
That wouldn’t be protectionism, but just a more level playing field.
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I think a reasonable manufacturing compromise would be to let manufacturers build their products wherever they want, but going forward ANY products have to be built in a factory condition that matches the most basic US standards. No underage employees. No factories belching out 1930s level of pollution (both water and air). The suppliers also have to meet these standards. No Uygher slaves or indentured servants.
If we find your iPhone batteries are sourcing cadmium from a mine in Africa using child slaves? Then it won’t be sold in the US. Period.
That wouldn’t be protectionism, but just a more level playing field.
@LuFins-Dad said in My foreign manufacturing proposal…:
... ANY products have to be built in a factory condition that matches the most basic US standards.
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Presumably those standards do not include minimum wage, be it in nominal USD or purchasing power parity terms.
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Would those "basic US standards" be California's standards or Mississippi's standards?
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On principle, I am OK with that proposal. Actually sounds quite Liberal. Too lazy to look it up, but wouldn't be surprised if Democrats and labor unions proposed similar things before.
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And Ricardo sighed.
It almost is designed to eliminate comparative advantage.
I’d prefer tariffs (and industrial policy) that were entirely national and economic security based.
Do we care if Vietnam makes all of our socks? No. In a pinch we could go sockless until we figured it out. Or we could learn how to darn them again like our grandmothers did.
Do we care if Taiwan makes all of our chips? Hell yes, even though they’re friendly.
Do we care if China makes all our drones? (Or most of them). Hell fucking yes.
