Fair Trade

It is popular to pick on our president. He makes it so easy that anyone can do it. The recent meeting with the North Korean dictator should have been praiseworthy, but President Trump’s unorthodox leadership style brought criticism instead. I have worked for some very good bosses and a few bad ones. The good ones were all predictable. I found it easy to support them, because they kept their staff informed. I knew what they were thinking and what they were going to do. Mr Trump, however, enjoys surprises. His offer to stop joint military exercises with South Korea surprised both the South Koreans and his own people. I find that unforgivable. I watched the network news criticizing his handling of the G7 meeting. The picture of our President sitting defiantly in front of the disapproving world leaders was worth a thousand words. The liberal press had a field day. I wish, however, that they had told the whole story.

The major objection at the G7 was President Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on European and Canadian goods. I have also been critical of his plan. I think it is irresponsible to hide inefficient industries behind tariff walls. We should apply good old American know-how to become more efficient rather than stifle the free market and promote bad business decisions. The Canadian Prime Minister was irate when Mr. Trump informed the world that his proposed tariffs on Canadian steel was a national defense issue. The last time I checked, Canada was our friend, and our President seemingly went out of his way to irritate a friend. When the national press covered the story, they omitted the fact that Canada has a stiff tariff on American dairy products. Mr. Trump offered to cancel the tariff on Canadian Steel if Canada would cancel their tariff on our dairy products. Prime Minister Trudeau is still crying foul.

When I reviewed a report of the G7 meeting, I was surprised to learn that Mr Trump offered to eliminate all tariffs and subsidies. The Europeans responded in shock. They aren’t about to reduce the high tariffs on American automobiles and agricultural products. They feel it is unfair for the US to impose the same trade restrictions that they have. I am certainly not a Trump fan. He scares me. He doesn’t use his advisers, and no one has any idea what he is going to do next. One-man rule is dangerous. But I think he is right when he says that the world has been taking advantage of us for so long that it is perceived as business as normal. The G7 believes it is OK for them to protect their industries with tariff walls, but it is dirty pool when the U.S. does the same thing. Trade is not the only thing in which the world takes advantage of us.

It is normal for the UN General Assembly to condemn America while they expect us to fund their operation. America pays more than twice as much of the United Nation’s budget as any other country. We pay more than all the countries in Europe combined. Yet, we are not expected to complain when we are criticized. Russia has a very rigid immigration policy. It is extremely difficult to get into or out of Russia. Italy accepts no refugees under any circumstances. A group of displaced Syrians were denied entry into Italy and are currently being shipped to Spain. Meanwhile, America is pilloried for detaining Central American families pending evaluation of their asylum requests. I have often thought we should offer to model our immigration policies after Mexico. Undocumented aliens are not tolerated in Mexico unless they are en-route to the U.S. Recently, a caravan of over 1,000 immigrants from Central America were escorted over 2,500 miles through Mexico to request asylum at the U.S. border. Why didn’t Mexico offer them asylum?

President Trump is easy to dislike. He has no sense of diplomacy and his off-the-cuff decisions are embarrassing. Occasionally, however, he gets something right. His methods need work, but America needs to demand fair treatment on the world stage.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free lance columnist for more than 18 years.)