Trump Is Right: Five Ways Chinese Car Makers Are Hosing America

Had enough of theoretical arguments about free trade—of complaints by establishment Republicans and the business community that President Trump is leading us from the glorious era of free trade into a recession induced by his protectionist policies? Well here’s a tangible example that should help you decide what is happening in the real world.

China has announced that it will soon be marketing its cars in the United States. The People’s Republic is the largest manufacturer of cars in the world, selling more vehicles than Japan and the United States combined. And not because they make such great vehicles.

The Chinese have achieved that place in the sun because of their clever policies and our policy failures, a combination that is not the stuff of which free trade is made. You might not have noticed, but China has been selling a small volume of autos here for a while. Volvo is now owned by China’s Geely, and markets its made-in-China S60 Inscription here in the States.

Some Detroit-based brands are also imported here from China, and Ford plans to move production of its Focus from Michigan to China, in order to do its bit to help Xi make China great again. But now the onslaught of Chinese-branded vehicles is about to start in earnest.

The Chinese have learned that we will levy a duty of only 2.5 percent on each vehicle imported for sale and have been keeping our import fee at that level even though they collect an import duty of 25 percent on any American-made car sold in China. Little wonder that President Trump congratulated the Chinese on the superior negotiating ability that produced such a disparity.