Globalization and the US Government

Globalization and the US Government Liberalization of international markets remains one of the most contested topics of modern international trade. Most developed economies pride in some of the most advanced liberal markets where countries take advantage of cheaper imports than concentrating on manufacturing products that may lack inherent competitive and comparative advantages when produced locally. Despite this huge support for market liberalization, growing dissenting voices against free trade gained momentum before the 2017 election. Donald Trump, the US president who has remained a sharp critic of market liberalization, has sparked a tariff war by instituting several tariffs meant to protect local industries.

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This new tariff makes the debate on the role of protectionism versus liberalism more relevant than in any other modern time. This paper reacts to varying views touching on trade, tariffs, liberalization versus protectionism among other issues as discussed in five different articles. In so doing, a comparative analysis between these papers is done.

Main Theme A thematic analysis done after reading the five articles indicate that the main theme being addressed is market liberalization versus market protection. The authors of all the five articles examine various aspects of market liberalization and the general feelings of the public on the market forces carefully explaining the benefits of a liberal market. An article by the BBC.com takes an informative angle by breaking down information in a manner any average citizen would understand. In the BBC.com (2018) article, the author mentions the US’s president recently added tariffs and goes to length to explain all concepts surrounding liberal markets, market protection, tariffs among others. Being an informative article addressed to the general public, it does not go to deep analysis that one would expect an article addressed to academicians. This is in sharp contrast with Wolla and Esenther’s (2017) work where, despite them maintaining the common theme of tariffs and market liberalization, they discuss the subject form a deeper sense with a focus on who are the winners and who are the losers of liberalized markets. In this work, Wolla and Esenther (2017) found that liberalization of free market drives some jobs away from Americans as the country lacks competitive advantages compared to other nations that may enjoy a cheaper labor hence lower cost of production.

In The Economist, (2016), the author intimates that those who end up losing as a result of free trade needs to be helped to adjust to other sustainable means of production if at all Americans are to reap the benefits of free trade. According to this article, most Americans

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rendered jobless due to the loss of income as a result of free trade find it hard to find other sources of employment (The Economist, 2016). The idea of supporting those who lose their jobs as a result of free trade is also echoed by Wolla and Esenther’s (2017). This would help in preventing companies’ shut down hence loss of jobs as a result of free trade. According to George, (2013), loss of jobs to the Americans is what fuels the debate against free trade.

President Trump is on record supporting the purchase of locally produced products to increase job opportunities to the Americans.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Articles A careful analysis of the articles shows strengths in competence and grasp of international trade by the authors. In their defense of free trade, all authors address the topic skillfully, minding the targeted audience. The article by BBC.com (2018), though written in the simplest form contains a perfect explanation of various aspects of free trade and the opinion of the writer. Being a news article means that its consumption is for the general public hence the need to remain as simple as possible. The simplicity of arguments presented in BBC.com (2018) is a sharp contrast with Krueger’s (2004) article addressed to the Graduate Institute of International Studies. In this address, Krueger (2004) tackled the subject matter in a deeper sense bearing in mind he was addressing intellectuals of a graduate school. This trend can also be noticed in other articles, for instance, the article by The Economist seems to be addressed to a general public. Hence, it tackles the subject in a simplified manner. This is in sharp contrast with Dorfman’s (2016) work that seems well suited for professionals in the realm of economics and trade. Thus, one paramount trend noticed in these articles is their ability to communicate effectively with their intended audience. This way, the main message is well delivered.

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On the flip side, most of these authors seem to have a transfixed mindset in support of market liberalization. This may lead to author bias towards the information passed to the reader.

This bias may also cloud the authors preventing them from realizing any possible changing trends in international trade and possible dangers that market liberalization may be posing to the American economy. Further, a fixed mindset makes the authors to automatically dismiss any other opinion apart from those supporting free trade.

The existence of Evidence to Support Arguments One notable weakness in most of the articles is lack of sufficient evidence to support arguments. Apart from Wolla and Esenther (2017) who use enough evidence to buttress their arguments, other authors either use insufficient evidence or it is lacking all together. BBC.com (2018) uses a few graphs lifted from various government or monetary bodies plus twitter posts from the US president Donald trump to support the argument fronted. This may be inadequate evidence. However, based on the targeted audience, this evidence may be deemed sufficient.

Other sources of evidence include historical data such as the Corn Laws of 1815 which is sued to show the dissenting voices of free trade. This evidence shows that free trade has been an opposed concept over the decades. However, the opposition is based on unfounded fears. Charts and graphs from various organizations also form part of the evidence in most of the articles.

Agreement with Author’s Conclusion The five authors are in support of free trade over market protection, with well-articulated reasons why a liberal market is better than a controlled market. Based on their argument, one agrees that indeed the American economy must derive the benefits of liberal markets as it concentrates on producing what it is best suited to produce. For instance, I agree that developed nations are better off investing more in service provision while allowing places with cheaper

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labor like China to handle manufacturing. Another reason to agree with the arguments of free trade is the realization that America has massive investments globally that may suffer tremendously should tariff wars continue. These include leading brands such as General Electric whose products that are found in all corners of the world.

Another reason that leads to the support of the authors’ argument is the proposal that those who loose due to free trade need to be assisted in adjusting in getting new jobs. The United States of America should invest in continuous human resource development as in other countries such as Germany that use the apprenticeship model to build its work force (No Name, 2016). The final reason for the support of the authors’ argument is the benefits reaped by an average American earner due to free trade. Free trade ensures that there are cheaper commodities in the market as countries concentrate on producing what they have a comparative advantage to produce. From this comparative advantages due to the existence of labor, better weather conditions among others, the average American earner can purchase cheaper goods hence reap the advantages of free trade. Imposing trade tariffs may, therefore, be detrimental to the average American consumer.

How the Articles Link The main source of linkage in the five assigned article is their support for free trade.

Although they were written in different periods of time, the five articles show a continuous information breakdown where non economist feel a free to trade is detrimental to the nation. In sharp contrast, the articles show the benefits of free trade. Nevertheless, authors such as BBC.com are non-committal to whether free trade is something good or bad. Another point of linkage is that the articles show some existence of systemic ignorance towards the support of free trade as developed over time. The oldest dated article is from Krueger (2004) who shows the

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difficulties of convincing skeptics of the beauty of free trade. In the unnamed (2016) article, the author examines leading democrats and republican presidential hopeful and their dissenting voices on free trade. The latest article by BBC.com (2018) examines the existence of instituted tariffs by the Trump administration. Thus, there is a clear trend that shows rising public concern over a free trade that culminated in tariffs imposition by president trump.

Whether Arguments Conflict or Reinforce Each Other The discussions by the five authors do not offer any conflicting opinions. All the authors are in support of free trade as opposed to protectionism. All the authors seem to agree that trade should be left to market forces for the achievement of equilibrium. Thus, the five articles reinforce each other showing the need for free trade over protectionism.

In conclusion, it is evident from the articles that the concept of free trade’s internalization by many people especially those tasked with the role of nation leadership is poor. It is also evident that market liberalization increases the purchasing power of the average American due to the lower costs of some essential goods imported from other parts of the world. Due to dissenting opinions concerning free trade and subsequent trade tariffs imposed or proposed to be imposed especially by Donald Trump’s administration, the average American buyer will significantly loose his or her purchasing power because America imports what it lacks comparative advantages to produce at home. Therefore, as concluded in all the five articles, America is better off with free trade market as opposed to a market controlled by tariffs.

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References BBC.com (2018). Trade wars, Trump tariffs and protectionism explained. Retrieved on September 23, 2018 from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-43512098 Chang. (2008). Bad Samaritans: the myth of free trade and the secret history of capitalism. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press.

Dorfman J., (2016). 4 reasons free trade has become a contentious political and economic issue.

Retrieved on September 23, 2018 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2016/04/03/4-reasons-free-trade-hasbecome-a-contentious-political-and-economic-issue/#6e0dd3da52c0 Draper, T. (2017). American Business and Public Policy. City: Taylor and Francis.

George, C. (2013). The truth about trade: the real impact of liberalization. London, UK: Zed Books.

Irwin, D. (2017). Clashing over commerce: a history of US trade policy. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Krueger, A. O., (2004). Willful Ignorance: The Struggle to Convince the Free Trade Skeptics.

International Monetary Fund. A public address to the Graduate Institute of International Studies on Geneva, May 18, 2004 The Economist, (2016). Open argument: The case for free trade is overwhelming. But the losers need more help. Retrieved on September 23, 2018 from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2016/04/02/open-argument Wolla S. A. & Esenther A., (2017). Does international trade create winners and losers?

Economic Research. Federal Bank of St. Louis. Retrieved on September 23, 2018 from

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https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2017/11/01/does-internationaltrade-create-winners-and-losers/