Paul Chehade - Simple Solutions to Improve the United States Economy.

October 4, 2013

Author: Abashley Barnett

1888 Press Release - Our manufacturing is done mostly overseas because of the high cost of our services. the trade agreements must be revised. Paul Chehade.

For the last decade, US has lost more than U$ 7 trillion in very bad trade negotiations. We import much more than we export and this is a fact that has been going on for years.

The country itself has a debt of over U$ 16 trillion that cannot be repaid in the next decades and we still insist in using the same system of exporting less and importing more.

Our manufacturing is done mostly overseas because of the high cost of our services. Even after improving our productivity by more than 100% in the last 12 years, our monthly salaries are too high to compete with others countries.

China for example has U$ 2.4 trillion surplus against us in only 7 years, and this number is 5 years old. Due to this gigantic deficit in trading with China, we have lost approximately 2.4 million jobs in our backyard.

Several states have felt this manufacturing exodus to China in the last decades. In California the numbers exceed 370, 000 jobs lost due to this trade deficit. Texas has lost 194, 000 jobs, New York 140, 000 and Illinois 106, 000. These are the top 4 states that lost the most jobs, but several others states have lost between 75, 000 to 100, 000 jobs.

Many American companies are established in China to take advantage of their low salaries. The biggest industry contributing to our trade deficit with China is computers and electronics since these devices have been imported from China everyday for years. The number is 40% or more of our deficit is due to only these devices.

Simple steps, could achieve great results!

If the United States leaves the WTO (World Trade Organization), then real tariffs could be applied to Chinese products which could immediately generate 1 million jobs here at home (this is only in the electronics and computer industry). We should not forget that this could also help us generate jobs in the manufacturing of goods, scientific and technical services. All these jobs could be created in our country almost immediately. Not having the need to manufacture products overseas, the direct result would be a high stimulation to our economy.

When we analyze the trade agreements signed in the last decades between the United States and several other countries, we will see in most of them the word "Free". This is a problem because we have so many "free trade agreements" we are in disadvantage with our "partners" that have lower salaries and outdated equipments. They can offer much better prices to us, while we cannot compete with their prices and with their local products.

NAFTA is one of the many examples where we lose money having this agreement in place. For the same product produced in the US for U$ 20 per hour, it can be manufactured in Mexico (a couple of miles away from our borders) for U$ 4 and can be shipped to the US "duty and restriction free".

After leaving WTO, the trade agreements must be revised. Our economy is not competing as it used to because we don't produce enough to compete globally, especially with those countries that we have given so many incentives to in the past.

It's necessary to understand that until we don't learn to keep our money in our pocket (in the United States) and balance our trade, we will have difficulties in growing at the speed we need to grow. Even if the United States wants to balance its trade it cannot be done. Our free trade agreements and our participation in the WTO will stop us from doing so.

Paul Chehade - Simple Solutions to Improve the United States Economy.

Simple steps, could achieve great results!

Sincerely,

Paul Chehade:.