Title: Trading with China Makes Us (and Them) Richer - Foundation for Economic Education
Headings: Trading with China Makes Us (and Them) Richer
Trading with China Makes Us (and Them) Richer
Chelsea Follett

Content: Trading with China Makes Us (and Them) Richer - Foundation for Economic Education
Trading with China Makes Us (and Them) Richer
Freedom to Trade Makes Us Both Better Off
Monday, March 21, 2016
Chelsea Follett
Economics Free Trade Globalization Politics Economic Nationalism Protectionism
Trade has enriched humanity, continuously providing cheaper and better goods while dramatically decreasing global poverty. Extreme poverty’s end is now in sight. A Gallup poll released recently shows that 58 percent of Americans view trade as an opportunity rather than a threat, and this belief has been rising. Yet we seldom hear of the incredible benefits of exchange. The 2016 presidential election has brought with it an increased interest in U.S. trade with China, with political figures like Donald Trump prominently focusing on the alleged “harm” done by China to the United States. Here are the three main arguments that trade-skeptics use regarding China and reasons why those arguments are wrong. 1) Trade-skeptics often claim that trade with China is “taking American jobs.” However, in most cases American and Chinese workers are not competing for the same jobs because they do different kinds of work. Comparative advantage and specialization play an important role in every trade relationship. China has the comparative advantage in light manufacturing and heavy industry, while the United States has an advantage in areas involving a high degree of human capital like technology, education, and precision industrial manufacturing .