Mercantilist policies don't work when everyone is Mercantilist. I agree there needs a stronger policy of reciprocity in free trade states against mercantilist ones, but we are doing already in recent years. But if we all close our markets against each other, we can look forward to greatly reduced growth not just at home but everywhere.

Why should we? Bricks will be built in low-cost countries. Tech and science will come from europe.

Moving up the value chain. It's normal. Until international costs start evening out, exporting commodity manufacturing is normal. Lots of stuff coming from IMEC, and ASML's license of US EUV tech makes them pretty protected for next few years.

It honestly doesn't make sense. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but sometimes the stupidity coming from both sides in government is so obvious I have to believe it is intentional.

It feels like our country is being prostituted economically -- foreign aid, welfare, corporate welfare, endless wars and foreign intervention, millions in earmarks to promote perverse ideologies, preventing municipalities from offering high-speed Internet as a utility despite ridiculously successful examples like Chattanooga, all to maintain Comcast's and AT&Ts monopoly on those services.

It's too much...