Economics: Turn Around is Fair Game
America's size and prosperity have made it the largest consumer of
imported products in the world. Brightly lit shopping malls adorned with the
latest foreign-made apparel, gadgets and trinkets, testify to the vast selection
of goods available for purchase. There is a dark side to this enormous quantity
of choices: a hefty price tag - the federal deficit. Unfair trade agreements,
and, predatory pricing strategies and practices from abroad, placed those goods
on the store's shelves. The United States Trade Representative (USTR), who is
directly responsible to the President and Congress for trade negotiations; is
forecasting a two hundred billion-dollar trade deficit for fiscal year 1996.
The American people must demand reciprocal trade agreements for overseas
business competitors. Complimentary trading would; put an end to subsidized
dumping, curb the loss of manufacturing jobs, and, tear down the barriers
associated with free trade.
The practice of selling items at a price less than what it costs to make
them is called dumping. Foreign governments subsidize the manufacturing
processes of certain industries so their companies can displace the
competition's industry. The television industry is a perfect example of
subsidized dumping. The post World War II infusion of subsidized Japanese-made
televisions, terminated the United States(U.S.) television manufacturing
industry. In the late 1950's, half a million units crossed our borders, tax and
tariff free. These television sets were made using cheaper components and
cheaper labor. However, the cost of transportation, wh ...