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Populism, Protectionism, and China

Series: Global Ethics Corner
From: Carnegie Council
Length: 00:02:00

Chinese policies tilt the field and undermine free trade, according to journalist David Leonhardt. Should the U.S. use sanctions more aggressively to enforce free trade principles and to protect domestic production? Or are the negative economic consequences too risky? Read the full description.

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Created and managed by Carnegie Council Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow William Vocke, Global Ethics Corner is a weekly 2 minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues.

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Piece Description

Created and managed by Carnegie Council Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow William Vocke, Global Ethics Corner is a weekly 2 minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues.

Transcript

Domestic politics creates intense pressures for trade protectionism, popular outrage at overseas competitors.

The logic of free trade, however, is indisputable. Comparative advantage is real and lowers costs of goods for everyone. Restricting trade always raises prices, even when your partner tilts the playing field. Tilting the field moves production overseas.

Forcing partners to play fair requires sanctions, raising prices even more. Ironically, sanctions restrict trade in order to free it; raise prices in order to lower them. So, for policy makers the choices all involve pain; lose jobs or raise prices.

This dilemma is manipulated by countries like China for their domestic needs. According to Leonhardt, Chinese policies tilt the field and undermine free trade.

Chinese monetary policy keeps the value of their currency artificially low, making their exports cheap. Second, Chinese i...
Read the full transcript

Additional Credits

William Vocke- Producer, Program Director, Writer and Voice Talent
Deborah Carroll- Production Manager
Julia Kennedy- Content Editor, Producer/Host of Advocates for Ethics in Business
Robert Smithline- Editor
Terence Hurley- Editor
Ina Pira- Media Coordinator

Related Website

www.carnegiecouncil.org