Wait a minute! Can "Buy American" and "Chinese
Imports" be
used in the same sentence or headline? The answer is "yes."
Buying
American is more than just about buying made in USA whenever
possible.
It's about supporting American companies who pay triple the
amount of
taxes to support our military and national defense, public
hospitals,
schools and libraries, as well as Social Security, Medicare
and Medicaid
than foreign companies. We all benefit when there's more
money available
for these necessities.
Having said that, let me re-state my position
concerning U.S.
trade policy with China. I oppose Most Favored Nation (MFN)
Status for
China. Such a policy gives preferential treatment to Chinese
imports
over domestically produced goods. Foreign workers don't pay
taxes to
America. Only American workers, and to a large extent, only
American
companies do. The U.S. Congress should never have voted to
admit China
into the World Trade Organization. China will always be
protectionist
and find a way despite WTO membership to remain
protectionist. And why
wouldn't they? No protectionist country that enjoys nearly
unfettered
access to the U.S. market would switch to free trade. What
would there
be to gain? China, much like their economic model Japan,
will find ways
to utilize non-tariff barriers to favor domestic production,
thereby
satisfying their WTO commitments.
But let's face it: Even "Buy American" conscious
consumers are
going to encounter the "Made in China" label quite often, so
we need a
clear strategy to deal with this reality. Many of the jobs
that have
gone to China and elsewhere may never return, and there are
some areas
where no American-made consumer goods are available. If
you're in the
market for a VCR, DVD Player, clock radio, or cordless
phone, for
example, you won't find any made in the USA.
When faced with only "Made in China" choices, it's
better for
America to buy an American-owned General Electric or Emerson
clock radio
than a Sony. Although we should shun American brands made in
China for
those made in non-communist countries like Taiwan, we need
to support
American companies whenever "Made in China" is the only
option.
For American-owned Motorola, for example, China
has become
their most important market since China buys more cellular
phones than
any other country, including the United States. I know
personally that
Motorola does not use China strictly as an export platform
since my
Motorola phone was assembled in the USA with foreign and
domestic
components. In this case, it makes sense for American
companies to
invest in China to produce for the Chinese market. Profits
reaped by
Motorola will be repatriated to the United States and paid
to American
owners and investors, and the taxes on those profits will be
paid to the
U.S. Government. Has anyone noticed the U.S. Government is
in debt? And
the chances are good that if you contribute to a mutual fund
or 401(k),
your portfolio includes shares of Motorola stock, and
probably a lot of
other American companies.
It is also important to support American
automobile companies
like General Motors. There is likely no other company in the
world that
has paid more taxes to the U.S. Treasury and supported the
livelihood of
more American workers, retirees and their families than
General Motors.
GM invests heavily in China, and why not? None of their cars
are being
exported back to the U.S., and GM makes twice the profits on
a car sold
in China than those sold in the U.S., so who could blame
them? Again,
profits from American-owned General Motors will be sent to
American
owners and investors, of which you may unknowingly be one.
You will pay
taxes on those gains, as will GM, and there will be more
money available
through tax dollars for all the demands "We, the People"
have put on our
government.
These facts lead us to yet another sobering fact:
The Chinese
market cannot be ignored. As in any situation, Americans
must make the
best of what they have to deal with, and America must deal
with China,
one way or another.
American-owned Kodak is in a fierce battle with
Fuji in the
United States, has been all but shut out of Japan, but they
control
nearly two-thirds of the Chinese market. Yet 90% of the film
Kodak sells
to the American market is made in the USA, so they aren't
using China
for an export platform either. None of Kodak's cameras are
made in the
USA, but that holds true for all their foreign competitors,
so let's not
unfairly demonize Kodak. All profits made by Kodak, even
those made in
China, are repatriated to America.
In the second edition of How Americans Can Buy
American: The
Power of Consumer Patriotism, I suggest that we buy nothing
from China
where an alternative exists, and that remains my position.
But the
reality is that China can no longer be ignored, and buy
American
conscious consumers should buy an American company's brand
made in China
over a foreign company's brand made in China. Sometimes that
will be the
only choice consumers will have. So let's make the best of
it. For
American companies like General Motors, Motorola and Kodak,
the stakes
are high. All Americans will benefit if American companies
succeed in
China instead of their foreign competitors.