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trade

‘The Severity Is Much Greater Than China Is Reporting’

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Listen to “‘The Severity Is Much Greater Than China Is Reporting'” on Spreaker.

The Chinese government is reporting more than 1,000 deaths related to coronavirus but China expert Gordon Chang says it’s clear from how officials are reacting with mass quarantines and other tactics that the problem is much worse than reported.

“The severity is much greater than China is officially reporting,” said Chang. “There are stories that Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, is cremating hundreds of bodies a day. That doesn’t fit very easily with a death toll of a thousand.”

But why what does China have to gain by lying about the severity? Chang says it’s all about control.

“Xi Xinping, the Chinese ruler, is much more interested in controlling the narrative than he is in ending the epidemic,” said Chang.

Chang discusses the impact that the mass quarantines are having on the Chinese economy and what the U.S. posture should be as this plays out.

In addition, Chang reacts to the news that the U.S. is indicting four Chinese military officials for the massive 2017 Equifax hack that compromised the information of more than 145 million people.

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Why Small Businesses Could Be Big Winners in USMCA

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On Thursday, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the USMCA, the new North American trade compact among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and a leading small business advocate says there are plenty of changes to make life easier for American businesses and entrepreneurs.

What regulatory changes will help business owners keep costs down? How does the agreement give small business a much bigger voice in future trade deliberations? What additional provisions are included to protect intellectual property rights?

We get answers to those questions and discuss the ongoing trade talks with China with Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council.

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Martini Awards Part 4: Best Idea, Worst Idea, Boldest Tactic

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Listen to “Martini Awards Part 4: Best Idea, Worst Idea, Boldest Tactic” on Spreaker.

More year-end awards today!  Jim and Greg embark on the second half of their six-episode saga known as the 2019 Three Martini Lunch Awards. Today, they offer up their selections for the best political idea, worst political idea, and boldest political tactics for the year.

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Tories Crush Corbyn, Tentative Trade Optimism, Biden’s Big Problem

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Listen to “Tories Crush Corbyn, Tentative Trade Optimism, Biden’s Big Problem” on Spreaker.

It’s finally Friday!  Yes, we are fully aware of the impeachment votes in the House Judiciary Committee but Jim sums up his analysis in roughly two seconds as we begin today’s podcast.  After that Jim and Greg celebrate the big win for the Conservative Party in the UK and are thrilled to report the political demise of Jeremy Corbyn.  They are also hoping that the substance matches the excitement as Congress prepares to pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement to replace NAFTA and President Trump announces agreement on “phase one” of trade negotiations with China.  And Jim details why Joe Biden’s campaign could face serious turbulence after reports that Hunter Biden had a 1988 drug arrest expunged at the same time Sen. Biden was advocating for very tough drug crime sentencing.

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Why Rep. Yoho Won’t Support USMCA

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Listen to “Why Rep. Yoho Won’t Support USMCA” on Spreaker.

House Republicans are hammering Speaker Nancy Pelosi for putting legislative business on hold while the impeachment process plays out. At the top of their grievance list is the inaction on the USMCA, the trade agreement among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico designed to replace NAFTA.

Florida Rep. Ted Yoho tells Greg Corombos how impeachment is gumming up the legislative works but he also details why he cannot support USMCA in it’s current form…and why he doesn’t think it has the votes to pass at all.

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Why the Trade War Hurts China More

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Listen to “Why the Trade War Hurts China More” on Spreaker.

The United States and China are engaged in high-level trade talks punctuated by tariffs inflicted in both directions, and while U.S. consumers may soon feel the pinch of higher prices, a leading China expert says the communist regime in Beijing is suffering far more.

“China has a trade-dependent economy and we do not,” said Gordon Chang, an East Asia policy expert and author of “The Coming Collapse of China.”  “Last year, China’s trade surplus with the U.S. accounted for 199.3 percent of it’s overall merchandise surplus.  That’s incredible dependence on access to the U.S. market.”

According to Chang, the U.S. needs to hammer China for anywhere between $150-600 billion to counter China’s prolific theft of U.S. intellectual property, or IP.

Many free trade advocates, including those in President Trump’s own party, agree that China is running roughshod over intellectual property rights but they contend Trump’s approach will only result in higher costs for American consumers.

Chang agrees that Americans will feel some pain, but he believes it will be mild compared to the impact on China.

“Yes, these tariffs will hurt us but China, up to now, has been absorbing probably more of the cost of these tariffs than we have.  So President Trump has been correct,” said Chang, who warns the financial impact on American consumers will get more severe the longer the trade impasse continues.

“As he extends tariffs to all Chinese good, which could happen in the not-too-distant future, then the percentage borne by the United States will be higher for sure.  But at some point, we have got to recognize that we cannot sustain the loss of all of this IP and that this is a critical threat to our economy and our society,” said Chang.

But Chang insists if we’re going to stop China’s predatory practices, the U.S. must pursue this course.

“We’ve just got to realize that we cannot get out of decades of misguided trade policy with China and expect there will be no cost.  There is a cost already and we’re going to have to bear it in ways which are more obvious than in the past,” said Chang.

Listen to the full podcast to hear whether no deal is better than a good deal with China for the foreseeable future and why Chang thinks Trump is making a big mistake in how he is dealing with China when it comes to the North Korean nuclear threat.

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Between Two Scorpions, Biden Flips on China, ‘Not Sure’ Beating Most Dems

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss what readers can expect in Jim’s new book, Between Two Scorpions. Joe Biden flip-flops on trade and calls President Trump “an existential threat” to the United States. Meanwhile, Democrats in Iowa grow more uncertain as to who they will support from the busload of presidential candidates.

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US, Mexico, Canada Agree to Lift Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

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Listen to “US, Mexico, Canada Agree to Lift Steel and Aluminum Tariffs” on Spreaker.

The United States reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to lift the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The news comes as a breath of fresh air to investors and President Trump in the midst of deteriorating trade relations between the U.S. and China. The Trump administration hopes lifting the tariffs will help in the ratification of the USMCA trade agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States in November to replace NAFTA. Matt Fisher reports.

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Energy Boom vs. Green New Deal

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Listen to “Energy Boom vs. Green New Deal” on Spreaker.

American energy is booming at levels virtually unthinkable a decade ago, but will the good times continue or get derailed by the Green New Deal?

American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers explains how the U.S. grew from energy dependence to a net exporter of energy in recent years and who deserves the credit.

He also tells us why the new trade deal with Canada and Mexico could help the energy sector even more and why he believes the Green New Deal is not grounded in reality.

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Trump Strategies to Lower Drug Prices: One Smart, One Not

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Listen to “Trump Strategies to Lower Drug Prices: One Smart, One Not” on Spreaker.

President Trump is trying to make good on a campaign promise to ease the financial burden Americans face when paying for prescription drugs, but a leading policy expert says one Trump strategy is right on target while another could lead to disaster.

Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs by a wide margin, and American Commitment President Phil Kerpen says it’s because other nations are taking advantage of us.

“Pretty much all of the other rich countries have some form of government price controls.  So they set prices far lower what a market-clearing price would be through government policy,” said Kerpen, who says American pharmaceutical companies do not have the option of not dealing with those other nations.

“If you try to do that, the other country will typically just try to steal your patent and have a local company produce it without compensating you or compensating you even lower,” said Kerpen.

As a result, the Trump administration is pressuring developed nations to ease price controls on prescription medications through trade negotiations.  Kerpen says Canada and Mexico are already on board with paying higher costs through the new trade deal that will soon replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Kerpen believes trade negotiations are the best way to address the problem and says the best argument for raising costs abroad is that the additional revenue will lead to more effective treatments for many ailments.

“If the other rich countries gave up their price controls, two things would happen.  We would get a lot more new cures developed because we’d get a lot more research and development.  There would be a lot more incentive to invest in it.

“The best research shows we’d get 10-13 new drugs per year if they loosen price controls in the other rich countries, but we’d also get lower prices in the U.S. through more competition,” said Kerpen.

The prices Americans pay for drugs provides the bulk of the funding for research and development.  Kerpen says bringing a new drug to market costs $2.5 billion to $3 billion when factoring in the cost of compliance with government regulations and all the resources spent on drug projects that fail.

While pushing hard on the trade side, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is exploring price controls here in the U.S.  Kerpen says Trump needs to abandon that effort or else innovation could be strangled.

“[It] feels good in the near term.  We’re paying less.  That seems good, but that would completely undermine the incentives for R&D in developing new cures.  Instead of the rest of the world free-riding on us.  There would be no one to free ride off of.  There would be no place to earn a market return.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Kerpen’s full diagnosis of the high prescription drug costs we face and why he says the Trump administration must abandon the domestic price controls if it hopes to win trade concessions from developed nations.

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