By Rick Manning
President Donald Trump declared five years ago: “China’s pattern of misconduct is well known. For decades, they have ripped off the United States like no one has ever done before. Hundreds of billions of dollars a year were lost dealing with China, especially over the years during the prior administration. China raided our factories, offshored our jobs, gutted our industries, stole our intellectual property, and violated their commitments under the World Trade Organization.”
Unfortunately, this concerted effort by Beijing to undermine American industry and leadership only increased in the last four years under now former President Joe Biden. As President Trump works hard to usher in a manufacturing renaissance during his second term, we must remain vigilant against Chinese actors working in parallel to undermine America’s resurgence.
China is aggressively moving to achieve global dominance in industries such as automotives, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, retail, and technology. China strives to unseat our position as the world leader in producing and exporting goods and services across the globe.
Manufacturing is the backbone of the American economy, and our innovative, high-quality goods and services are in demand worldwide. But in the last four years, China has made strides to erode our strength, leveraging manufacturing and trade as economic weapons. Now is the time to fortify our industrial base before it is too late.
While the issue of China came up repeatedly across virtually every confirmation hearing this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put perhaps the finest point on what is at stake, saying “If we don’t change course, we are going to live in the world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis from our security to our health will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not.”
A successful revitalization strategy must start by ensuring US manufacturers can easily access the building blocks for products, without vulnerability to the whims of China and other foreign enemies. We must not let China capture the market for advanced manufacturing materials impacting all industries – such as sealants, specialty coatings, polymers, plastics, and stabilizers. If we fail to support American manufacturing of advanced production materials, China will fill the gap.
We’re already seeing the early stages of this as China continues to flood the U.S. market with things like cheaper plastics that are not made to the same safety and environmental standards as U.S. products. Given how much innovations in plastics have transformed construction, packaging, cars, trucks, medical equipment, aerospace, even the clothes we wear.
If we do not heed Senator Rubio’s warning, this behavior will only intensify, giving them not only the ability to withhold supply and put a chokehold on American manufacturing, but also jeopardize tens of millions of American jobs.
Revitalizing and maintaining a strong American industrial base means building supply chain security and resilience. We must never depend on China for our basic production needs. Our trade balance, economic prosperity, and national security depend on it.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
