Trump allegedly seeks to take action in favor of the U.S. industry. But the positions of his administration suggest that the most controversial features of recent trade transactions – an attempt to impose rules that will benefit corporate interests and will not bring any benefits to ordinary workers - remain key elements of trump's Toolkit.
American corporations and investors benefit from their trade restrictions, with the potential benefits to workers still uncertain. In the negotiations of NAFTA, the U.S. undermines the norm of public health.
Trump's decree on preparing a trade war with China collapsed stock markets, including the us. Is there a chance for a truce in this trade war?
Tariffs on steel and aluminum will benefit investors in commodity metals, however, it is unclear what benefit it will receive from American workers. And after the announcement of new tariffs on Chinese imports the United States to uphold the rules that ultimately facilitate outsourcing. None of this reflects the potential cost of responses from other countries.
In many modern commercial transactions, the parties to the talks focused on the situation in different countries was the same, same as it is now they are focused on how to regulate tariffs. This can sometimes be a positive factor, such as seeking to improve safety standards or better protect working conditions.
In other cases it can be detrimental: on the TPP negotiations, the Obama administration has supported drug manufacturers, who demanded the emergency protection of its intellectual property.
In the current negotiations of NAFTA, the US officials insist on rules that would prevent countries to place warning labels on foods high in sugar or fat. Such restrictions are supported by corporations that do not want to change their recipes or packaging for export, and would prefer that their American products are not marked in this way as well. But Mexican officials, in particular, note public health problems such as obesity associated with an abundance of sweet foods, processed foods that are supplied by NAFTA.
Cigarette companies have used trade negotiations as a way to avoid restrictions on labeling imposed by local legislators. Although negotiators for the TPP has created a wide exception for public health aimed at preventing abuses in this Covenant.
Now us negotiators are trying to weaken this exception by blocking inscriptions containing information about the content of sugar and fat. Such rules are difficult to consider useful to Mexican public opinion, much less to American workers.
Steel and aluminum tariffs, which come into effect on March 23, are supposedly designed to protect American steelmakers.
Proponents of trade argue that this policy will lead to job losses, as companies faced with rising commodity prices are likely to reduce the number of employees.
Supporters of trade restrictions, said that the studies exaggerated fears about job losses, but their best-case scenario is that the tariffs "will not lead to net changes in the level of national employment after reaching equilibrium". For workers, this is clearly not the most advantageous situation.
Given the number of exceptions proposed by the White house, this policy will be able to provoke US trading partners to a worthy answer, but it is unlikely to change prices to reform the domestic metallurgical industry. Stock prices at steel plants may show a rebound, but technological change has caused employment to decline at these facilities.
Steel mill owners point out that their market share is growing at the expense of poor countries that do not have the political influence to get rid of tariffs. On a large-scale goal, China, which flooded global markets with cheap metals, is unlikely to be directly influenced. How much intellectual property do middle-class Americans take abroad?
The new round of tariffs is aimed at China as a punishment for practices that us corporations believe led to the theft of their intellectual property. The tariffs will affect Chinese imports cost $50 billion, which is about 10% of what the US buys from Chinese firms each year. Share prices of American exporters fell, supposedly on fears of retaliation from China. Without knowing what specific industries they will target, it is difficult to predict their impact on the US economy.
But intellectual property protection is about protecting the value of companies that own copyrights, trademarks, or patents on drugs, biotechnologies, or chips that they manufacture abroad. Or such as Trump Organization, which license their brand. Best case scenario: China is weakening its rules requiring foreign companies to share technology with domestic partners.
This means that by setting new tariffs, trump is struggling to make it easier for us companies to outsource to China without trying to get those jobs back.