The Transpacific Partnership (TPP), another Obama-era globalist free trade deal, is back in the news, and it will come as no surprise that the usual suspects think the US is missing out by not giving up its sovereignty and allowing other countries to export to the United States. US tariff free. Besides free trade, globalists think the only way to save the U.S. economy is to… millions of people allow come to the country who are willing to work for $5 an hour.
Globalists believe that the US needs integration with the rest of the world and that this integration is some kind of panacea that will solve all the world's problems while improving the lives of all people. Groups like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) argue that inequality has increased and that integration will help reduce it. However, if the US integrates with the poorer countries, we will end up with an average, which means that the Americans will lose while the people of the developing world will gain.
An example of this is Mexico, where the average income is $11,500 per year, while in the US it is $70,000. If we calculate a weighted average, taking into account the difference in the sizes of the populations, we get about $25,000. So if the US integrates with Mexico, we can eliminate income inequality if we all agree to live on just $25,000 a year. This is essentially what globalist organizations want. Forcing the US to integrate its economy with other countries would only lower Americans' living standards.
Of course, the US could also integrate with Haiti, which has a GDP per capita of less than $800 per year. The globalists would love that.
An organization called Global Sourced praised Clinton and Obama for their contributions to the globalization of the United States in an article entitled “Globalization: The Establishment of American economic power.” They are missing the point that the basis of American power is hard work, fair courts, a lack of corruption, and a high degree of freedomsinnovation, risk taking, education, democracy, private property rights, capitalism, and any of the highest labor productivity in the world. The countries they want the US to integrate with tend to have high numbers levels of corruption, a low level of judicial independence and lower employee productivity. They also tend to have a higher degree of socialism. Integrating the two economies will not solve the poorer country's problems.
The North American Development Bank wrote: “US-Mexico border: Pivot for economic integration of North America.” American conservatives would see this as a stronger argument for keeping the border secure. However, Obama is still active on the speaking circuit, telling globalist conferences that the US needs globalism and that it is the only way to achieve a transition. to reduce inequality and green energy.
Similarly, President Biden has directed the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to “Biden's take on Worker-oriented trade policy.” These policies are supposed to improve the lives of workers by ensuring compliance with “international labor rights under U.S. trade agreements,” but the Biden administration “excludes foreign workers, employers and fellow governments from these processes.” By not forcing countries that export to the US to comply with international labor rights, Biden is giving these countries an unfair price advantage, which will only increase the amount of foreign products in the US while eliminating American jobs.
The globalists are also pushing for American participation in multinational organizations and trade agreements. The Transpacific Partnership (TPP), for example, is a huge, multilateral trading group championed by Obama, and from which Trump rightly pulled the US out. Proponents of the TPP claim it will create jobs, but this makes absolutely no sense as tariff-free imports from low-wage countries will eliminate manufacturing jobs in the US. Meanwhile, poor countries are unlikely to purchase increasing quantities of high-value, expensive U.S. exports.
Critics of America's aversion to joining these major groups always argue that the US is missing out. But that is not the case. The US is the second largest trading country in the world, and joining these groups will not change that. The US is the largest importer and these countries will not refuse to sell to us. The US dominates certain trade areas where China is not keeping pace, such as machinery parts, agricultural machinery, white goods (appliances), precision technology, aerospace technology and food.
Moreover, the US already has bilateral trade agreements with most of the world and already trades, invests, and maintains diplomatic relations with all but six countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Yemen. With the exception of Bhutan, these countries are all pariah states and all poor. The US loses nothing by not establishing free trade or economic integration with them.
One of the supposed benefits of the TPP is the “greater integration of the economies,” but it is unclear why anyone believes that integration would benefit the United States. The US is the richest country in terms of GDP and the eighth richest in terms of GDP GDP per capita. The US dollar is the dominant trading and reserve currency. As mentioned above, the US already trades with the world. No harm can come if we secure the southern border, control immigration, stay out of transnational trade groups, and continue to trade and invest with other countries as we always have.
