Page 9 - Comparative Advantage News Today

Know, you could actually see a net reduction in jobs. look, i think donald trumps heart is in the right place. i do think he cares about the steel and aluminum workers. i traveled to a lot of the areas where factories have left. i just dont think this is the way to bring them back. >> why doesnt he get that? >> look, theyre going to let trump be trump -- >> yeah. >> go ahead. >> if you let trump be trump you better make sure the house is fire proofed. once the advisers are out of there, who know...

Buick. they talk free trade and they practice perfectionism. they are far more protectionist then we are. chinas tariffs 25 percent. that is a funny kind of comparative advantage. i makes this argument about leveling the playing field. they had been pushing back. they had expressed fears that other countries will act in a reciprocal manner. what is the impact of not been being on the same page with a lot of the folks in their own party. we will have to see. its not helpful when our own party. th...

President would like to see a reciprocal tax in place is that right? >> yes, yes, thats true but i think the important point that he was making is we are not in a level playing field and we are not protectionists. china and europe talk free-trade and they practice protectionism. they have far more protectionist s than we are. take cars. our tariff on automobiles is 2.5 %. europes tariff 10%. chinas tariff 25%. thats a funny kind of comparative advantage and free-trade, the theory is those countr...

And they are trying to do it on every front. we will show in a moment. this is something that has been in donald trumps crawl when he was not president for decades. i mean, this might be actually the thing that drove him to run for president in the first place. he has been very unhappy about trade imbalances for a long time: are they right or wrong, tom? >> i think they are probably wrong in the sense that, yes, it will be marginal in terms of basic canned goods. we saw wilbur ross talking about...

Increase interest rates which would reduce investment or cause more foreign borrowing which would increase the trade deficit. also the house has a lot of bizarre, misguided tax increases on higher education that would hurt graduate students, and a source of our, you know, comparative advantage is having people get good education and good degrees. theyre actually making that harder rather than easier in this tax bill. >> theres also a "new york times" analysis estimating the senate plan leaves 13...

Deficit, the united states, since 1976, folks. 40 years of trade deficits. you will hear these harvard professors and yale professors whomever, they will start clucking about comparative advantage. the fact of the matter is okay, where is it? we send them soybeans like theyre some sort of third world country. brag about we have the doggone trade deficit down to 300 billion. these people, whether theyre academics or whether theyre multinationals or whether its neoliberals that have been running p...

>> the republican party, what do you guys think about global trade? do you believe in comparative advantage? do you think that capital should flow to where labor is cheapest or do you think the president should make these countries buck up and stay where they are? >> a fairly simple concept that will be complicated in its very simple implementation. we need to do whats in americas interests, true for trade policy and domestic policy. thats what america stands for -- >> wait. this is fascinating....

China into the wto, not changes in the corporate tax rate that led those jobs to china. my question is global trade. lets say you cut the corporate rate and those jobs still left the country. >> i dont think they will, but okay. >> the republican party, what do you guys think about global trade? do you believe in comparative advantage? do you think that capital should flow to where labor is cheapest or do you think the president should make these countries buck up and stay where they are? >> a f...

Any time you start playing around with retaliatory type trade things, it is very likely youre going to have -- the other side will play too. thats been the history. the problem for trade, and this is why you need what i would call an instructor in chief as president, because you cannot blame anybody that lost their job because industry, their industry moved abroad, because it was comparative advantage. you cant expect any of them to say, im for free trade, because it helps the society as a whole...

Call an instructor in chief as president, because you cannot blame anybody that lost their job because industry, their industry moved abroad, because it was comparative advantage with some other country. you cant expect any of them to say, im for free trade, because it helps the society as a whole. it does help the society as a whole. but the benefits are very diffuse, you know. i may buy the socks i have on, the underwear i have a few cents cheaper because of the comparative advantage of some o...