The Trump transition team recently announced the appointment of Peter Navarro to a newly created post as the head of newly created National Trade Council.
Apparently this appointment will not require a Senate hearing and confirmation. Thus a lightweight could be rewarded for his loyalty and not risk embarrassing the new administration.
On the other hand, Trump could be seriously considering Navarro as his point person in trade negotiations with China. Either way, the possible involvement of Navarro on the most important bilateral relations of the world deserves serious analysis.
At one time, Navarro tried his hand at politics and ran for US Congress, mayor and city council. Each time he came up empty—a many-time loser.
Then he became a lame pundit who concentrated his vitriol on China mixed with questionable reasoning in economics.
As one indicator, Navarro chose Gordon G. Chang to write the forward to his recent book on China’s militarism. Chang was the pundit who predicted the collapse of China in 2001, only to see China’s economy double and then double again.
Navarro came to Chang’s rescue by blaming the Clinton Administration for letting China into the WTO and thus supposedly prevented Chang’s forecast of doom from coming true.
Then Navarro expressed his unreserved admiration for Harry Wu because Wu was a willing talking head in Navarro’s video interviews. Since his death, Wu’s sordid past of lying, stealing other people’s money and cheating on his wife have come to light.
Until Trump’s appointment, that’s the kind of company Navarro kept.
Apparently, he came to Trump’s attention when he said 4-5% GDP growth is possible under Trump’s administration, even while imposing import duties on goods made in China. If that’s really so, the economic growth would have to be increasing at better than twice the historic rate associated with a good year.
The simple but erroneous idea is that import tariff will protect jobs in the domestic market. It simply doesn’t work that way. It’s unbecoming for a Harvard PhD economist, like Navarro, to say so.
Ronald Reagan tried to protect America’s auto industry
A fairly recent example that comes to mind was when Reagan wanted to protect the American auto industry by imposing an import duty on cars made in Japan. The idea was to give the US carmakers breathing space to become more competitive.
Instead of taking advantage of the import barrier to work on their competitiveness, the US car companies simply took advantage of the new prices for imported Japanese cars by raising their own sticker price. It was only after the Japanese makers transferred their plants into the US—and thus avoided the import duty—that the American companies began the serious task of having to compete.
In effect, the import duty “protected” by allowing the American companies to remain inefficient. Only after the Japanese carmakers built their plants in the US that the American companies had to trim their workforce to compete. And by the way, the workforce that went to work for the Japanese carmakers were non-union and got lower pay.
Imposing import duty across the board on goods made in China would be wrong-headed and even more disastrous than asking the American consumer to pay more for their cars.
Most of the consumer goods made in China such as apparel, shoes, toys, and hardware haven’t been made in America in decades. There are no domestic industries to protect and the import tax would just add the daily cost of living for every American.
American companies did not establish plants in China just for low cost labor but also to serve a growing local market there. The personal computer is an illustrative example.
The PC used to be assembled in Taiwan and then the Taiwanese companies moved to the mainland because of the significant savings in labor. Economic pressures forced their component suppliers to follow them. Component suppliers for the PC came from Japan, Korea, Taiwan as well as the US.
Intel combined its China and US manufacturing to stay competitive
One of the US suppliers was Intel. They first set up an integrated circuit assembly and test plant in Chengdu to perform the final manufacturing steps on the microprocessors made in the US. The finished ICs were then shipped to the PC makers all over China.
Gradually as China became a major consumer of PCs, Intel expanded their operations in China, not only at Chengdu but also added a semiconductor fab operations in Dalian.
However, even today Intel continues to make 75% of their semiconductor chips in their US operations even as 75% of their market is outside of the US.
Intel’s total US manufacturing payroll is much higher than its payroll for their Chengdu operation, even though the number of workers employed in Chengdu is “orders of magnitude” bigger than the number engaged in the US—according to my source inside Intel.
The explanation is that the US manufacturing steps are technology intensive and highly automated. Not many workers are required but each has to be highly trained and very well paid. The Chengdu operations involving test and packaging require many workers, but each does not have to be highly technical nor highly paid.
Taking advantage of the comparative advantage (that’s jargon from Econ 101) of each place gives Intel the means to maintain their technical dominance over their competition. This is nothing to do with currency manipulation, just simple economics.
Most of the American companies that set up operations in China may have the low cost labor in mind initially but subsequently justified added investments because China had become a huge market in its own right.
In some cases, China did impose import duty on foreign made products and thus encouraged the American companies to operate inside China—just as Reagan’s import duty encourage Japan’s auto makers to move into the US.
In the end, the local investment benefited the foreign investor, but also China’s economy with a more skilled workforce. The same could apply in the reverse, i.e., as regards to China’s investments coming into the US.
Chinese companies are looking to invest in the US to be closer to the major markets here. They certainly wouldn’t be looking for lower cost of labor but would be paying higher salary for more technically demanding jobs. This could only benefit the local economy in the US.
Xenophobia and stupidity should not discourage these investments just because they are from China.
Navarro makes no bones about demonizing China in everything he has said, but is he really compatible with Donald Trump’s real personal interests?
Last month, a video of Trump’s granddaughter Arabella Kushner reciting a poem in Chinese won the hearts of millions of Chinese. This suggests that Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, understand the importance of learning Chinese for their 5-year old daughter’s future. Surely they have more influence on Ivanka’s father than Navarro?
Sheldon Adelson has been one of Trump’s major supporters. His billions of net worth is tied to majority ownership of Las Vegas Sands and more than 60% of revenue and profits of the company is derived from Macau. He could hardly be pleased if Trump were to deliberately raise the tension between the US and China.
China exercises its international influence far differently from the American way of relying on military alliances. Close to 100 countries have China as their largest trading partner. Among them, some 60 plus are also members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or are recipients of AIIB investments. Their relationship with China is based on common economic interests.
The Trump Administration should also consider the merits of developing a bilateral relations based on shared economic interest.
Bilateral basis for common economic interest
Consider for example the economic benefits of tourism from China to the US Last year, less than 3% of China’s total outbound tourists came to the US and they spent over US$30 billion. That was the first full year when the Chinese were granted 10-year, multi-entry visas to visit the US.
The future impact of Chinese tourists on the American economy will continue to grow exponentially, provided of course that the US and China are not engaged in some mano a mano test of military armament.
There are over 330,000 Chinese students studying in the US in the academic year just past. According to the Department of Commerce, these students contributed US$11.4 billion to help prop up the finances of the US universities as well as the local economy.
Not to be overlooked another benefit of these students is that as much as 75% of the graduates would prefer to stay and work in the US if the US would permit.
China produces many more times graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics than the US can produce. They are just the talent pool American companies desperately need to keep their plants operating and not having to move them offshore.
Trump has to understand that America is losing jobs to automation and technological advances and not to China. Someday, for example, Uber is going to rely of self-drive cars and all the drivers will have to find another job. Amazon will use drones to deliver their packages and UPS will have to either operate the drones or else find some other line of work.
Encouraging the employment of Chinese graduates will buy Trump time to figure out how to save high paying jobs that will stay ahead of the technology evolution. America’s future lies in generating highly qualified and skilled workers and not in bringing back low paying jobs from overseas.
Thus, we hope that Trump will have the wisdom to look for the win-win approach with China. To promote Navarro’s line of military confrontation and restart the nuclear race can only lead to a lose-lose outcome and such outcomes would be devastating beyond imagination.
John Brown Thanks for the conversation. We have more in common views than shown here and I hav leatrned from the discourse of everyone. China is strong on long term planning and goals. The US is short term oriernted due to our velection cycles. China will achieve its goals, perhaps not perfectly, but sufficiently. Under Trump, we will cut our trade deficits. Trump is not a fool. He will press and find the limits and figure out a fair deal in trade. He will disincentivise exporting jobs. He will create a regulatory and tax environment that will encourage domestic production of jobs and he will rebuiold the military and modernise the infrastructure of the country. That will be his main focus. Good luck to you. Nice to meet you.
Art Laramee
And lastly, China’s success is not an existential threat to USA, Unlike USSR, China does not want to force its own communism and other ideology to US, Unlike Saudi Arabia(I agree with you on Islam), China does not want to force its own religion of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism to convert US population. They are actually very similar to US on many ways, they believe in modernity, they value science, technology and progress, they believe Capitalism and they seek security within their own backyards. What you are seeing right now in South China sea is… US Navy going 6000 miles away… trying to stop CHINA in the South CHINA sea… not China trying to link up with Cuba planning invasion of California. So who is a threat to who right now?
And lets face it, in the long term, we might have bigger problems to worry about, what does it matter who is the top dog when we are all under water from climate change? Another reason for the world’s biggest and 2nd biggest CO2 producer to work together on this any other issues.
This is my last reply, happy new year and I do hope Trump don’t F up our country in the next 4 years.
Art Laramee This will be my last reply to you, I can see from my comment exchange with you that overall you have soften your view on China a lot, which is good.
I’m glad you are trying to learn about other people’s culture which is always important. As for my own background, I am a Chinese American myself, I come to this country very young, I have spend more of my life here than in China, and I have forgotten how to write Chinese. So my future is tied to US and I hope we are a nation is successful as much as anyone.
At same time, I can really see the distorted view of CHina in our "free media" from left and rihgt, lets face it, China is a soft target, unlike Israel and the Saudi who literally spend millions influence our politcal/media process direclty, China focus on their own business, so that means its politcally correct to attack them. The so call "fake news" currently in this election is absolutely child play on the overall reporting of China in our media during the past 2 decades. Ask youself honestly, when was the last time you genuinely see anything positive about China in our "free media"? Everyting you see is negative, thier govrement policy, huamn right issue etc.. China always seems to be on the brink of collapse or revolution,. but from a reality point of view, how has China gone from 20 years from one of the poorest naiton on earth to what its today which took US 100 years to achieve same level? Obvious they are doing something right, but the distorted media coverage of china has established a narraive of China either a unstoppable evil empire bend on destory the free nations, or a inferior group of people that can only produce bad quality stuff with their slave labors. This is media distortion is stupid in 3 ways, 1, if you want to fight your enemy, by not trying to understand them is very stupid, 2, if you mis understand your rivals’ true ability, mistake might happen, and in the nuclear age, this is very dangeorus. 3 which I think is most important,. this negative narrative only locks you in with one mindset, the mindselt of conflict, while gives you no prespective at all on explore other options. which would be a better alternative than conflect.
From my prespective , I see the first hand cooperation between US and China in a human level which are generating much benefit for both nations. Chinese tourist spends billions of dollars here in USA, and NO, VAST MAJORITY of Chinese does not want to have anchor baby here and leech on our system, vast majority of Chinese people look up to US, but they are very proud of thier own nation. in fact my cousin comes form CHina next week for a 2 week vacation, he already have the Las Vegas/Grand Canyon helicopter tour planned out, and he told me his budget is $20,000. Chinese students study here spend another billions of dollars to local economy with thier tuition, thier housing etc…
I peronsally works for a company that export merchance to China and my business is booming, Trump speaks of reduce the tade deflict, and I am personallly doing this more than anyone you know, the merchandise that I export to China, supports a chain of people here in USA, the raw material producers, the manuactering plant, the packaing company, the trcuking/transporation company, the shipping company, the local port etc… everyone of those people earns a decent Americna wages, and you have no idea how much Chinese consumer lilke our American stuff, we are selling them like hotcakes to Chinese in China, but if Trump wants a trade war and go about it stupidly like Peter Navarro suggests, I’m not sure our company can survive, if we stop buying and exporting, our supplier/service providor will suffre, people WILL lose their job.
I’m not going into what China did in central asia, because I can just point out US policy in Middle East/Lation America/Africa etc… and we both are stuck in a loop of trying to compare whos worse. There is no point…
And lets face it, in the long term, we might have bigger problems to worry about, what does it matter who is the top dog when we are all under water from climate change?
And lastly, China’s success is not an existential threat to USA, Unlike USSR, China does not want to force its own communism and other ideology to US, Unlike Saudi Arabia(I agree with you on Islam), China does not want to force its own religion of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism to convert US population. They are actually very similar to US on many ways, they believe in modernity, they value science, technology and progress, they believe Capitalism and they seek security within their own backyards. What you are seeing right now in South China sea is… US Navy going 6000 miles away… trying to stop CHINA in the South CHINA sea… not China trying to link up with Cuba planning invasion of California. So who is a threat to who right now?
This is my last reply, happy new year and I do hope Trump don’t F up our country.
Art Laramee , Obama also tried to balance the trade. But didn’t work. Let’s see how trump can make it work. Business itself is war. Pure politicians are afraid of war. Common fair rules must be implemented just like contract.
Peter Afu If you ignore the rhetoric, all Trump seeks is making the trade imbalances not so incredibly bad for the USA.
John Brown As for investments, you could be right, maybe. I know a great deal about Chinese investment here as well as the little known program that lets a foreigner invest $500,000 in a project that creates 10 jobs and in return provides green cards. The Chinese are the biggest users and their use is predominantly to build a house, here. I also know of the failed attempt to build a mainlands Chinese enclave here in Boise Idaho and then in Thomasville New York (not completely dead). I know of the very active practice of tourists coming to this country to have their babies and then returning to China with US birth certificate.
I know lots of other things like the many scholarships China gives to Eurasians to go to China and get educated and then stay in China to work after graduation. I know China partners with local colleges in research projects in Eurasian countries. Very good ideas.
As for the land and future resources to pay for development, I hads no trouble googling. There’s actually lots of stories in various non-american web sites that cite Eurasians worriede about China dominance and practices while they take full advantage of zChina’s One Belt One Road Initiative, if you have the curiosity to search. I spent years doing it, not just a few weeks.
John Brown I don’t buy everything you say as absolute truth. But you are entitled to a Chinese centric view as I have an American centric view and of course I am more familiar with our situation than China’s (but like you are knowledgeable of American history I have read a great deal about China and especially the progress of the New Silk Road and current challenges.) My point about Argentina is as you observe that it went from top of the world to banana republic despite skills, resources and size. Just because you have then doesn’t mean you can’t piss them away through bad management.
John, you cannot help yourself as ther other commenters here, of seeing resentment, anger, and ill will in my assessments. These sensations permeate much of the comments here but don’t exist in my heart. I am just an old man (had a very, very successful career) who is in his twilight years and sees what is happening in the world and tries to interpret it. I don’t dislike China or the Chinese. In fact I like to visit most foreign countries to see their culture, their architectutre, to learn of their perception of their history and to eat their food. The only exception is violent Muslim countries or countries with violent Muslim populations. Sorry that is not bhigotry it is self preservation.
Art Laramee The multinationals are the ones who benefitted, but it was the complicity of American politicians which enabled policies to be passed (or repealed) which actually caused the shift.