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samboct -> RE: China Bashing (10/18/2011 5:59:36 PM)
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Huntsman doesn't even know the facts in his own damn industry. Huntsman is one of the largest chemical firms- you'd think he'd know about the prices of rare earths and how China has put a lock on the stuff- in direct violation of WTO regs by the way. China has the major supplies of some of the critical rare earths such as neodynium used in permanent magnets- a critical component of wind turbine generators and electric cars. China has refused to sell the raw materials outside the country, insisting instead that the rest of the world purchase finished magnets from them- effectively destroying other countries industries including US and Japan. Talk about critical materials in the coming years! I think China is also controlling prices of germanium and indium- a critical element in touch screens at this point.
China's patent system is an atrocity- it basically screws outsiders and protects domestic industry. US patents are a sick joke now- there's no enforcement. Small manufacturers can patent something, and then watch in helpless fury as knock offs come in from China with no effective recourse. Furthermore, Chinese companies preferentially do business with Chinese suppliers.
The mantra of manufacturing in China has been driven by two factors....the idiocy of US MBAs who can't focus on anything further away than next quarter and the Chinese subsidizing the construction of manufacturing plants in their country with massive tax breaks and effectively free money for capital. Of course, the notion of actually protecting intellectual property doesn't dawn on these moron MBAs who couldn't invent a paperclip if their life depended on it- once something is manufactured in China, there is no more intellectual property. So the US investment in science and engineering is just being wasted....
However, the US used to have some protected industry in the form of our defense contractors. With the rise of the COTS (commercial off the shelf technology) program- that went by the wayside, and we no longer care where we source stuff- thank you Ronnie Rayguns so even defense manufacturers are sourcing stuff in China.
Seems to me that in a funny way- I actually agree with some of these Republican imbeciles....China is eating our lunch and they know it. Back in the 1850s, the UK decided that David Ricardo was an economic god and could do no wrong. His thesis was that protective tariffs don't work and that the UK should just unilaterally abolish all tariffs. This lead not to a golden age for England, but a hollowing out of their industry from which they've never recovered.
It's clear that trade works well when both sides are playing by the same rules. Overall trade between the US and Europe has enriched both continents- and I'm not too concerned with trade with either Mexico or Canada. China, on the other hand, is a different story....
Sam
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