Vet67to82's Blog : Trade Imbalance w/China

Steel grating, steel pipe, etc .... it can be successfully argued that China has a cost advantage on EVERY item "they" sell in the USA ... and throughout the world.

Every USA company has to pay for every person employed:

(1) Social Security Taxes . China? -- nope.
(2) FUTA taxes China? -- nope.
(3) Medical plans China? -- nope.
(4) Retirement plans China? -- nope.
(5) etc., etc., etc.

All of the costs, and more, are factored into the "price" of USA ( and EU, etc. ) products ... no matter how you try to calculate the "competition" in less overhead costs, less fixed and less variable costs ... the free world is out of balance witth China and other third world countries where "life" and labor is CHEAP.

Despite the observations that are factual and glaring ... I really don't observe that int'l trade really knows how to even things up. Does China, itself, institute equivalent taxes on its manufacturing ...?? Considering China has approx. 1.4 billion people it needs to get, and keep, employed ... that's unlikely from China's perspective.

But if China, and the world, used some common sense ... 300 million Americans, and even the USA gov't, can't keep spending to support the 7 billion people on the planet, or even the 1.4 billion in China ... and if China continues to undercut prices on products built and mfg'd in the USA ... USA citizens lose their jobs ... and their income ... and WON'T be able to buy foreign products ... no matter how "CHEAP" they get.