Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

Re:Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working by jacquesm on Saturday February 24, 2018 @03:04PM (#16455053)

America has never had a 'reciprocal' free trade agreement, it has used the banner of free trade to engage in low level asymmetric trade wars. The stupid mistake they made was to ship their production capability to China, Japan got where they are under their own power, though the degree to which the Japanese bought Japanese products (mainly because of quality) meant that American products with a Japanese equivalent never stood much of a chance of being adopted in Japan.

Free trade is based on merit (quality) and production capability, America has made some costly mistakes with both.

Sanctions will hit the American consumer harder than the exporters.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working by mc32 on Saturday February 24, 2018 @03:39PM (#16455262)

The Japanese engaged in and got away with things like tariffs on Rossignol under the made up excuse that Japanese snow is unique, and thus only Japanese skis were fit for skiing in Japan. Sure, their snow in some places is "wetter", but we now see western skis doing well there and Japanese skis performing well on non Japanese snow. That's the kind of nonsense our leadership should have stood up to.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working by jacquesm on Saturday February 24, 2018 @03:55PM (#16455356)

Indeed, that is nonsense.

Rossignol is a French company by the way.

But I don't see anything exceptional there, it is similar to the nonsense America engages in vv Canada when it comes to dairy, beef and lumber.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working by mc32 on Saturday February 24, 2018 @04:11PM (#16455430)

I knew Rossignol was French. It was emblematic of Japanese tactics back then where they engaged in passive aggressive trade manipulation.

[ Parent | on HN ]