By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer 1 hour, 28 minutes ago WASHINGTON - A move to try to protect threatened American industries and workers from foreign competition would be a serious mistake that would jeopardize the sizable benefits of free trade, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT "Restricting trade by imposing tariffs, quotas and other barriers is exactly the wrong thing to do," Bernanke said in remarks prepared for an audience at Montana Tech in Butte, Mont. "In the long run, economic isolationism and retreat from international competition would inexorably lead to lower productivity for U.S. firms and lower living standards for U.S. consumers," Bernanke said. As America's trade deficits have soared, Congress and the Bush administration have come under increased political pressure to erect trade barriers against a flood of imports that critics contend have contributed to the loss of more than 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2001.
I am for some trade tariffs, or better stated I will reiterate my tax incentives when it comes to cars 1. Largest tax incentive- you buy an a vehicle mfg. in America with American based HQ 2. Middle Tax Incentive-you buy an American made vehicle with the majority of the HQ overseas ( that would be me. I own 2 American made Toyotas ) 3. No tax incentive- you buy an foreign made vehicle with a foreign based HQ ( BMW for example or the Lexus made in Japan ) No I think in it's simplicity it flexible enough to accommodate everyone and stimulate American mfg, which needs it. Why do we although almost unrestricted access to our markets and then China imposes big tariffs and manipulates the heck out of the currency against us? Now they want a NAFTA superhighway through our sovereign country. BS! Take your New World Order and shove up your arse! It's not our job to bring the third world countries up to our standards. It's the job of our politicians to protect ours. It's just like unfettered capitalism is bad, just as complete socialism is. Extremes in all forms are bad, plain and simple. We restrict little access to our free markets, extreme, and then we get screwed by other nations like China and Japan that restrict imports. Ok enough of my soapbox. I feel better. Thanks for listening to my rantings.