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Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Hawley Announces First Bill in Worker's Agenda to Rebuild America: Ending Normal Trade Relations with China Act — U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced the first piece of legislation in his new Worker’s Agenda to Rebuild America. The Ending Normal Trade Relations with China Act would revoke China's normal trade relations status to reduce our dependency and protect America’s working class.

China is America’s greatest adversary. To win the fierce economic competition for jobs, industry, and the future, America must return to the long-standing formula for American success: strong and independent workers. Years of short-sighted decisions by policymakers in Washington have only perpetuated the problem.

“As we face a new age of competition with China, we need an agenda in Washington that will make our working class strong and independent. We can start by revoking the sweetheart deal D.C. elites handed to China 23 years ago—end normal trade relations, put in place strong tariffs, and protect American workers,” said Senator Hawley.

Smoot-Hawley redux? The reasoning behind then and now is protectionism, which is anathema to the liberal doctrine of free markets, free trade, and free capital flows. Isn't this antithetical to the US claim to be competing?

JOSH HAWLEY
U.S. SENATOR FOR MISSOURI
Also
Protectionist trade policies and the lack of an economic agenda for East and Southeast Asia have become central themes in critiques of US policy towards the region and its approach to managing US–China ‘strategic competition’.

According to these accounts, US protectionism undermines its economic draw in East Asia — and the political leverage stemming from it — at a time when it has already been eroded by rising reliance on Chinese trade, investment and regional institutions such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Instead, the United States should employ open economic diplomacy, return to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and allow for greater market access for exporters from the region.

From the US perspective, limiting economic openness towards China is necessary to protect its industrial base, lessen its import reliance in critical sectors and mitigate the potential for China to weaponise interdependence. But export restrictions, punitive tariffs and industrial policies aimed at eroding the market share of Asian firms are perceived in East Asia as detrimental to the ‘rules-based international order’ and East Asian prosperity.
East Asia Forum
A ‘protectionist’ United States still key to East Asia’s economy
Tamas Meszaros, Keio University

Also
The U.S. and some other Western countries must take responsibility and be held accountable for the systemic violation of human rights resulting from their unilateral sanctions, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on Monday....
ECNS (Chinese official English news service)
U.S. must be held accountable for systemic violation of human rights resulting from unilateral sanctions: Chinese FM

7 comments:

  1. Conservative politicians refuse to do anything to slow the cancer of wokery, of systemic anti-whitism, of male castration, of Jewish supremacy, of election fraud, of rampant crime by urban blacks, of mass financial fraud, or the offshoring of production.

    Instead, they whine about China.

    The Titanic has hit an iceberg and is sinking fast. Nothing can stop this, since half the ship’s crew only wants to whine about "white privilege," and the other half only wants to whine about China.

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  2. And what we used to call developing nations are moving faster than we ever imagined.

    They are huge and in 50 years time will play a massive role in the geopolitical stage. The West thought that they could control them forever.

    The Brics and Asia. Combined with Russia and China will change the world as we know it.

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  3. Hawley is a moderate. Cotton is not.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Brics and Asia. Combined with Russia and China will change the world as we know it.

    Africa is also going to be a huge player owing to their resources base once decolonization ramps up. China and Russia are already working hard on this.

    Lots written on this already and, of course, the West is trying to counter their influence by sowing chaos and installing compliant regimes wherever possible.

    Rising Star of the 21st Century: Africa

    Latin America is coming online, too.

    The West is going to be regretting their colonial heritage and attempting to disown it to the degree it can no longer be imposed in the face of more powerful opposition, which is one of the subtexts of "multipolarity."

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  5. “ Africa is also going to be a huge player owing to their resources”

    Tom, the 1800s are calling… they want their thesis back…

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tom is engaging in triumphalism. Look how that worked out for the author of "The End of History" et al.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A dose of reality:
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/india-s-plastic-problem-no-easy-fix-for-trash-mountains-that-provide-profit-and-pain-1.6785583

    ReplyDelete