Protecting American Manufacturing Jobs in the Free Trade Era

Abstract

Free Trade and Protecting Manufacturing Jobs The economic principle of comparative advantage offers justification for global trade by demonstrating that specialization facilitates mutual gains for countries. Nations have varying production capabilities for different goods and services that leads to specialization on various industries. As the global trade increases, it leads to growth of economies around the world where consumers have access to imports and manufacturers sell to overseas markets. The benefits for free trade include economic growth, access to a wide range of products and services, and wider markets for organizations (Nwoke, 2020). Nations make strategic decisions to control global tirade activities to increase efficiency and gain a comparative advantage in producing goods and services. A nation more equipped to produce a certain product can export it to the global market and the consumers in the country can import other products and services from overseas manufacturers. The concept of global trade is an important economic principle that facilitates the growth of economies and increases the variety of goods in the market. Criticism against free trade in the United States has been centered on the potential effect it has to manufacturing jobs for millions of Americans in various sectors of the economy. Protecting American manufacturing jobs by managing free trade is vital for the organizations, workers in the affected industries, and the national economy. Overseas manufacturers with a greater cost advantage than American companies have the potential to sell cheaper products that affect demand for local goods (Nwoke, 2020). In particular, Chinese manufacturers have increased the amount of criticism against the increase of free trade between the United States and China. Cheaper Chinese alternatives to local goods competing against American products have a significant effect on the manufacturing sector. Moreover, American multinationals have shifted their operations to overseas markets to lower the cost of labor and compete against the cheaper alternatives. Policy initiatives to regulate free trade include tariffs and levies that the government places on imports to protect local jobs. Government approaches on free trade have significant implications on the local manufacturing industry and the affect the jobs for the American people. Shifts in policy changes signal changes in the country’s direction on free trade particularly regarding tariffs on Chinese imports. Both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates in the November 2024 election have embraced the use of tariffs to protect American jobs in the manufacturing industry. According to Swanson (2024), the general direction for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is to increase tariffs and levies on Chinese imports to protect local jobs. While the candidates differ on the measures they will put in place to achieve this goal and the amount in tariffs they put in place, the approach is the same for both parties. Trump wants to place between 10% and 20% tariffs on most imports from China but the Democratic Party candidate has criticized the level as too high (Swanson, 2024). Despite the variation in the specific approaches the candidates intend to implement to protect American jobs, both view tariffs against China and other global markets as necessary moving forward. The patterns in global trade and the national economy align with changing views of the American people on the comparative advantage the country has in the manufacturing sector. It is necessary to ensure that there are policies in place to regulate the effects that international trade has on the American people in various sectors of the economy. The United States is one of the prominent players in the global trade measures by the amount of imports and exports to overseas markets. America’s top position in the global economy in the amount of GDP makes the nation a major influencer in patterns of production and consumption in the United States. However, the rapidly growing Chinese economy has the potential...