On Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:25:43 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:

John R. Carroll wrote:
CaveLamb wrote:
jim wrote:

Ideally it would mean dropping the value
That foreigners perceive the dollar to have
that would mean foreign goods would cost more than
goods made in the USA

Ok, but at the moment most of our consumable products are made in
China, Singapore, Taiwan, Mexico, etc.

How do we get THEM to perceive this decrease in value
without perceiving it ourselves?

Get them to stop artificially depressing the value of their currency in
China's case.
China has also consistently provided a direct payment for any product in
certain groups that is exported.
Cancelling that out with targeted tarrif's would probably change that. The
difficulty would be in any Chibese reaction.
They would possible screw with rare earth shipments, for example.

Much of America's trade deficit would disappear if currency's were properly
valued.
The Chinese standard of living would also take a jump up. Well, it could.

Letting the dollar fall leads to just one thing. A lowered standard of
living in the US.


Copy that.

But my impression (probably uninformed impression) is that there are tax
breaks (or at least advantages) for producing offshore.

Labor cost alone can't possibly cover the cost of transportation.
Even as overloaded as container ships are run.

Labor and health benefits? I dunno.

The U.S. has some sort of favored trading partner treaties with
various countries, who's exports are admitted into the U.S. at
favorable, or no, customs rates. Thailand is/was one and quite a
number of Japanese countries established "plants" in Thailand which
assembled Japanese made parts and exported them as "Made in Thailand"
to the U.S.

Many of the less developed countries have very desirable tax
structures for foreign company that will establish factories in the
country; cost of labor is substantially cheaper and benefits, medical
care, retirement, etc. are much cheaper. Numbers and amounts of
permits, licenses, government mandated reports, OSHA, and the other
things that drive U.S. companies mad are usually a minor
inconvenience; financing may be cheaper - borrow in foreign currency
and pay in local currency.

In short there are many very good reasons for a company to move
off-shore.