Lighthizer, a former U.S. trade negotiator, believes that the U.S. economic carrier has turned during the Trump administration, which has changed its trade philosophy and shown the U.S. and the world the dictatorial character of the Chinese Communist economy; he urges the Biden administration to resist the pressure to take over the baton.
Former U.S. Trade Negotiator Lighthizer believes that the U.S. economic carrier has turned during the Trump Administration and that the Trump administration has changed its trade philosophy, allowing the U.S. and the world to see the dictatorial characteristics of the Chinese Communist economy; he urges the Biden Administration to resist the pressure and take over the baton.
Recently, former U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer was interviewed by Oren Cass, executive director of American Compass. In the interview, Lighthizer said the Trump administration’s economic policies have had a major impact on the U.S. and world economies, like having turned the bow of an aircraft carrier, and that he believes the Biden administration should resist the pressure to complete the turnaround because the U.S. and the world cannot afford to lose against the Chinese Communist Party.
Trump Administration Accomplishments: Changing Trade Philosophy to See Communist China’s Economic Dictatorship
Former U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer is an experienced trade lawyer who played an important role in U.S. trade policy during the Trump administration.
In an interview with Kass, Lighthizer said the world has undergone a dramatic change in the trade arena today compared to four years ago. Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States has changed the direction of its trade policy, moving away from the globalization and associationism that once dominated.
He noted that after World War II, the United States largely implemented a trade policy of globalization and defeating communism, rebuilding Europe and Japan. But globalization soon became guided by consumer preferences, and it became a corporate philosophy for companies to make money, cross borders, etc. But President Trump has changed that philosophy.
He said, “President Trump’s view is that what we need now is a trade policy in which every decision is based on how it will affect people at work; how it will bring productive jobs back to the United States.”
He argues that this is the first and most important thing President Trump has done, and that President Biden has not opposed Trump’s trade policy throughout his campaign.
The second economic achievement of the Trump administration, according to Leitheiser, is that it has opened people’s eyes to how the Communist economy works.
We’ve made this country, and the world, aware that China (the Chinese Communist Party) is a very important competitor, not just to the United States, but to all market economies in general, against the way we think about how the economy works,” said Reitheiser. They have a model, and that model is state capitalism with characteristics, and I think that’s the dictatorial characteristic.”
Lighthizer’s successor, Katherine Tai, also got tough on the Chinese Communist Party in a speech, saying, “We face a growing competition from a growing and ambitious China [Communist Party],” according to the Associated Press. “A China whose economy is controlled by central planners who are not subject to pressure for political pluralism, democratic elections or public opinion.”
Trump breaks through layers of resistance U.S. economic carrier has turned around
According to Leitheiser, the Trump administration has had a difficult Time changing its economic and trade policies and has faced huge resistance on issues such as tariffs, jobs and the return of manufacturing.
During the Trump administration, trade negotiations with China revolved around tariffs. According to Leitheiser, people have now seen 25 percent tariffs move factories from China, in many cases to the United States. The period of the virus Epidemic has made people more aware that they can no longer be in a position of relying on Chinese production.
The Associated Press reports that Louis Kuijs of the Oxford School of Economics and other economists say that removing tariffs and restricting access to technology and financial markets are unlikely to be priorities for the new U.S. administration.
By the time the Chinese communist viruses (Wuhan pneumonia, New Coronavirus, COVID-19) swept through the U.S., last February, Trump’s trade policies had resulted in 500,000 more U.S. jobs than on President Trump’s 2016 election day.
Leitheiser said, “That’s a big, big number, but we’ve all been told those jobs will never come back.”
It takes a long time for an economic policy change to be reflected in actual economic data. It’s really like turning the battleship around, right?” said Leitheiser. It really is, it’s not like just flipping a switch with your hand.”
Globalism is deceptive: The world can’t afford American failure
The reason for this is that the resistance to Trump’s economic reforms is because it touches the interests of globalized corporations. In the interview, Leitheiser specifically addressed the essence of globalism, referring to the principle of ISDS, or investor-state dispute settlement, which he said “is part of the theory of globalism. that is part of the doctrine of globalism.”
He described the doctrine as providing that when an investor moves a plant from the United States to another country and its rights are violated by unlawful measures of the host country, the investor can sue and have an arbitrator decide that you should receive a refund of all your investment.
That seems crazy to me,” Leitheiser said. But that was the basic tenet of these guys, and it still is. What I always say is, look, if you want to have this kind of insurance against investment activity outside the U.S., buy political insurance. But the U.S. government should not be offering free political insurance to encourage people to move their plants to another country. …… So the question is whether you are benefiting the workers in the United States. If yes, then of course you don’t support ISDS. if your goal is to profit the investing class or companies by moving out of the U.S. while costing Americans their jobs, then you will support ISDS.”
And Trump’s policy is like saying, “Well, this is going to cost jobs here or there. Why should we do that?”
Reitheiser pointed out that a lot of people are losing their jobs because the government is making more money by allowing people to produce overseas than in the United States. He said, “We’re putting more emphasis on the price of a T-shirt than on community safety. It’s a completely crazy idea.”
Along with Trump’s trade policies come warnings in addition to tariffs. Lighthizer said, “We’re in this competition, we can’t afford to lose, the world can’t afford us to lose.”
Perceptions have changed Lighthizer expects the Biden administration to withstand the onslaught
What makes Lighthizer optimistic is that Trump’s trade policy will be a permanent shift, and he believes the new administration will continue that trade policy.
He said, “I know I’ve talked to dozens of Republican and Democratic members of Congress who have told me specifically that their views on how trade works and its role in building strong communities in America have completely changed. I’m very pleased about that.”
The AP report also noted that the Communist Party faces more opposition in Washington than ever before because of its trade record, territorial disputes with neighboring countries, its crackdown on Hong Kong, reports of Muslim abuse, and allegations of technology theft and espionage. “The situation has changed significantly,” said Nathan Sheets, a former deputy undersecretary for international affairs in the Obama administration.
Letheiser said the biggest challenge for the Biden administration is whether it can withstand the onslaught of a group that includes: corporations, the mainstream media, foreign governments and all those other interest groups that aim to move manufacturing overseas.
He noted that the first thing for the Biden administration to do is to maintain existing trade policies, firmly enforce the rules of all Trump administration trade agreements and, crucially, enforce the law, and then move on to the next phase.
The second thing Biden has to do is compete with Beijing, Leitheiser noted. The Biden administration must be ever vigilant to take advantage of the first phase of the agreement and demand that it be enforced in accordance with this agreement. Keep tariffs intact and add new tariffs where appropriate.
And the last big thing is the global economy. Leitheiser believes the U.S. should reset tariffs entirely. Tariffs are much more important to me than all these non-tariff barriers that we’re talking about,” he said. Non-tariff barriers are important, but they’re hard to put into practice.”
According to Leitheiser, turning around the direction the carrier is sailing in is the hardest, and going along with it is much easier for the new administration.
He stressed the importance of the Biden administration continuing the policies of the previous administration, saying, “They are so important that they will determine what will become of the communities where we will live and where we will raise our children.”
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