"Ed Huntress" wrote in message .net...
"bg" wrote in message
om...
China runs a positive trade balance, overall, of around US$30 billion
(2002). Their positive trade balance with the US in 2002 was US$103
billion.
Obviously, the US is their great sink-hole for manufactured products. In
the
rest of the world, they run a $73 billion *deficit*.
They expect that surplus to shrink to virtually nothing in 2003 and
for a small deficit in 2004.
Who's "they"? Our trade balance with China through August of 2002 was $63
billion. Through August of 2003 it's $77 billion. On an annualized basis,
that will increase our trade deficit with China from $103 billion in '02 to
$123 billion in '03.
It's headed the opposite way.
Thats only the trade balance with the USA. but if China wasnt playing
fair, why do they not have such surpluses with the rest of the world?
I truly believe there is no problem with
us buying. I believe our problem is that we do not sell anything.
Haha! Yeah, you could say that, Yogi. g
The obvious I was stating was that someone is selling to China, but it is
not the USA.
So, who's selling to them, and what are they selling? You can look it up.
I dont need to, though it is not really difficult to do. They are
selling telecommunications equipment, machine tools, manufacturing
production lines, power generation equipment, assembly line equipment,
quality control equipment, etc. I see it myself. I ask them numerous
times in numerous facilities, "why dont you buy american goods?" their
reply is usually one of two major reasons:
The price or quality. This leads one to believe that we are not doing
a good job. I have always known we havent. In 1990 i visited the
leipzig fair right after the wall came down during the elections. Not
one American company was exhibiting. I called on the doc in washington
upon my return and asked a man, "what do you do there? we had no
representation at all, while the rest of the world did.". He replied
that we are improving and trying to do a better job. I nearly laughed
at him (only 27 at the time and too embarrassed to do so).
it is also obvious on frequent visits to China that they
prefer Euro and Asian goods over most USA goods.
Examples?
Anything and everything I mentioned above and plenty more. Go to any
factory producing machine tools or metalworking equipment and you will
find all Euro and Japanese Production equipment.
Go to any stone manufacturing facility and you will find only Italian
machinery.
Almost never American mfg products.
SO if this given is true, and judging from their trade numbers it is,
why are we in the USA having such a problem, while the rest of the
world is exporting to China? I think we need to analyze this question
and the answers should lead us to a more productive outlook on whose
problem this trade deficit really is. Because blaming China for a yuan
valuation that is 10 years old certainly is not the answer. It is far
off the mark and from any logical economists view, nearly embarrassing
to broach.(though our administration has no problem in broaching the
embarrassing - It is almost comical that someone from the Bush admin
would direct China on how to run their economy)
Actually, they run into trade barriers to the USA market often as
well. See what they have to go through to sell peanuts in the USA. Or
duties for steel. Or Apples and apple juice. Everyone has their own
line of defense for given industries to protect. However, ours are
limited and the Euros, Koreans, and Japanese give them the hardest
time.
Now you're closing in on what Mickey Kantor (former U.S. Trade
Representative) said about it. He said there is no such thing as free trade.
To date, that is correct. There are very few completely open
economies, if any. some Island nations that need to import most
everything are probably the closest to true free trade out of
necessity.