Trade: The USA versus the world

As I listen to the talking heads on television I wonder if any of them have ever been in business and tried to do business with other countries or compete with other countries.

At least two of the companies I worked with had to compete with international companies. We were in high-tech and had a great deal of money invested in development of product. In each case our primary international competitor was subsidized by its government, giving them a huge advantage in development cost and ongoing maintenance cost. The European Union owns and operates airbus, which competes with our independent airline manufacturers.

If you try to export goods to most any country from the United States you will be hit with local fees and tariffs plus be forced to have a local partner just for the sake of doing business. Our business (America's) ethic is fair competition based on hard work and quality. The international model is unfair: the government at every level has its hand in your pocket and stealing our intellectual properties is an added bonus for them.

Do not weep for the G7 – they have had the best of the deal since 1945. They have grown up and should now have an adult relationship with the USA. It is time to stop their adolescent behavior and stand on merit rather than being the injured party.

We (the USA) provide security worldwide through our military while they are so proud of their high-speed train infrastructure because they did not have to fund a significant military.

It is time to pay the piper. They had their fun, now we must turn inward and protect the American worker who has sacrificed so much for them.

Robert Wright