Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.   

It should be abundantly clear to every American by now that communist China is out to dominate the world and replace the United States as the most powerful nation. China is a threat not only to our country, but to western civilization as a whole. The breadth of their effort is mind boggling. They leave no stone unturned, in their effort to achieve world dominance. Sadly, many of our country’s leaders, until President Trump took office, have not only failed to recognize the threat, but in some cases have actually facilitated China’s efforts. To defeat an adversary, it is essential to recognize accurately the tactics they are employing.

The question facing us now is whether we can reassert our previous economic strength to ensure that China does not achieve economic dominance. Fortunately, President Trump not only recognizes the threat, but is determined to rebuild our economic prowess, particularly in manufacturing. For too long, our presidents have failed to take action to stop and reverse the transfer of our essential manufacturing capacity overseas. We have increasingly become a country of importers instead of producers, which not only makes us less wealthy and independent, but makes us militarily vulnerable.

The federal government has even contributed to the decline of manufacturing in this country by implementing unwise policies. One glaring example was the North Atlantic Fair-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed into law by President Clinton in 1994. This agreement resulted in many U.S. manufacturers moving to Mexico, and to a lesser extent Canada, particularly in the areas of food production, textiles, and automobile manufacturing. The result was the loss of over a million good paying jobs and the suppression of the wages of American workers. Also, our trade deficits with these two trading partners rose dramatically. Fortunately, President Trump in his first term was able to do away with NAFTA and negotiate a fair deal with Mexico and Canada. Another disastrous government action was the granting of permanent-most-favored-nation status to China in the year 2000. Permanent-most-favored-nation status had previously required annual approval by our president. As a result, many American companies rushed to take advantage of the much lower wages paid to Chinese workers as well as weaker environmental requirements and other factors by moving their manufacturing plants to China. As a result, our global trade deficit soared from $381 billion in 2000 to $945 billion in 2022.

Historically, we have rapidly declined from a manufacturing powerhouse to dependency on other countries. For example, it was largely the economic manufacturing capacity of America that resulted in the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan during World War II. We were rightly called the arsenal of democracy since we not only were able to produce enough military equipment to meet our needs, but supplied these items to our allies. Even the Soviet Union benefited, since we provided over 30% of the military equipment they used to help defeat Nazi Germany. Clearly, a strong manufacturing capacity is essential to national security.

Here are some ways that we can regain our manufacturing capacity and ensure we are able to stand up to China as needed. First, we must insist on a level, fair playing field in our dealings with China and other countries. For example, Communist China provides substantial government financial support to their steel manufacturing companies. This makes it next to impossible for American companies to compete, since the Chinese can sell steel at prices that are actually below the cost of production. Communist China also requires our companies to turn over their manufacturing patents and technology if they want to do business in China. Communist China has consistently violated fair trade agreements and has begun using other countries as sites for their manufacturing to avoid tariffs and other restrictions. Not only should President Trump continue his tariff policies to reign in China but their status as permanent-most-favored nation needs to be revoked. Second, we must refocus our educational system to ensure sufficient skilled workers for an expanding manufacturing system in our country. We must get away from the college for all idea and refocus on the trades, engineering, robotics, and vocational training. Many college graduates spend inordinate amounts of money on useless college degrees that do not prepare them for available jobs and careers. The federal government spends billions of our tax payer money supporting colleges and universities. Much of these funds should be redirected to practical job skill training including apprenticeships.

President Trump has done a great job in the short period of time he has been back in office to return manufacturing to this country. He has incentivized American and foreign companies to build new manufacturing plants in our country. Congress needs to step up and confront the reality that we must not allow communist China to grow their economy at our expense. Competition must be fair and equitable, which it will never be with communist China. Americans need to be encouraged to “Buy American.” Our survival in an increasingly risky world depends on having a strong economy. We did it once, and must do it again.