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Tech Group Urges US To Recruit Allies To Take on China, Not Tariffs (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tread-softly dept.

A trade group representing top technology companies on Monday told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that it opposes the Trump administration's focus on tariffs to try to change China's unfair trade practices. From a report: The Information Technology Industry Council said in a letter to Mnuchin that it supports the Trump administration's "Section 301" investigation into China's abuses of intellectual property, but instead of tariffs, it advocates a U.S.-led international coalition to put pressure on Beijing. "Our opposition to tariffs is pragmatic. Tariffs do not work," wrote ITIC President and CEO Dean Garfield. "Instead of tariffs, we strongly encourage the administration to build an international coalition that can challenge China at the World Trade Organization and beyond," Garfield added. "Numerous countries share the United States' concerns about China and its unfair trade practices. The United States is uniquely well-situated to lead that coalition."

17 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. Draw a Red Line in the sand by tomhath · · Score: 4, Funny

    we strongly encourage the administration to build an international coalition that can challenge China at the World Trade Organization and beyond

    That's worked so well in other places.

    1. Re:Draw a Red Line in the sand by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 2

      The World Trade Organization, and all of its trade treaties, are too corrupt to bother with. International terrorist organizations need to be utterly eliminated, whether they work in weapons or financials.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    2. Re: Draw a Red Line in the sand by Type44Q · · Score: 2

      Leave basic arithmetic out of this; can't you see it's political? ;)

  2. If they don't work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    then why does China have tariffs on the US? And why was the slashdot hivemind so pro-tariff a couple of years ago?

  3. Re:What is an unfair trade practice? by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

    So who is implementing tariffs? Is it government or companies? Please enlighten us.

  4. Yeah, whinning is more likely to work by losfromla · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I absolutely loathe drumPft, everything about him, from his absurd "hairstyle" to his voice, diction, "policies", etc.

    However, I favor sanctions. We should sanction smartly though to protect our high tech manufacturing industries. So we could be a powerhouse like Germany, which protects its industries. China protects its acquisition of technology, why shouldn't we also work to help our industries?

    This "Tech Group" sounds like they favor inaction and ineffective whining because, apparently, they have more to gain by importing Chinese goods than by helping strengthen the American middle class. Damned blood-sucking corporatist vampires.

    --
    Only I can judge you.
    1. Re:Yeah, whinning is more likely to work by losfromla · · Score: 2

      They protect their industries by keeping them in-country. This is done because all corporations have an advisory board made up of rank-and-file employees, who clearly have a vested interest in the company remaining and zero in it leaving. I wasn't trying to imply they had sanctions on China, sorry if it read that way.

      --
      Only I can judge you.
    2. Re: Yeah, whinning is more likely to work by Type44Q · · Score: 3, Insightful
      We should just keep pissing away our wealth in the way of trade imbalances because it's too late to do anything about it.

      Except it clearly isn't, or the Chinese wouldn't be trying so hard to convince us otherwise.

    3. Re:Yeah, whinning is more likely to work by losfromla · · Score: 2

      You do realize that Europeans came and extracted the wealth of these nations while destroying their society and way of life? The only injustice is that these extractors weren't impaled and burned on a pyre as they arrived. I cannot believe that in this day-and-age anyone with two or more working brain cells can even jokingly put forth that the Europeans got a raw deal, FFS!

      --
      Only I can judge you.
    4. Re:Yeah, whinning is more likely to work by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      This started 20 years ago, and hasn't happened yet. Is it possible that we were imperialists and this is different?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  5. Re:WTO has NEVER ruled in favor of US by SirSlud · · Score: 2

    The bus was late this morning! It's a terrorist bus! Oh no, it's raining! These are terrorist clouds! Etc ..

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"
  6. Good results so far. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    Should we be working with our allies to combat unfair trading practices? Of course!
    Should we do so in a calm and collected manner? Of course!
    Was the president warned about retaliation a thousand times before the first tariff? Of course!
    Does he think he's smarter than everyone else and nothing can dissuade him from taking the more perilous actions? Of course!

    This is the bed people have made, it's time to sleep in it.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  7. Re:Ummm how about both? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

    No one prevents Europeand or americans to move to Africa.

    Sorry, but to say it pluntly: the time that countries have to react on other countries development, even thinking that they need to react, are over. Over long ago. Half the communist regimes on the world are/were there because the US supported the dictors there before some 'revolution' killed them. That the world is slowly dragging itself out of the shithole the USA put us in is a good thing.
    You had 50 years, actually 70 years, chance to depose african dictators, help in setting up elections etc.
    Now when China comes, "doing the right thing", you again want to fight it?
    For what? To keep the slaves on their knees? And how do you want to achive it? China has nukes, which means the African 'colonies' have nukes, too.
    Good luck with your outdated imperialism.

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  8. Re:LMOL by bongey · · Score: 2

    Angel you are Chinese, if you are a Chinese citizen you aren't even allowed to speak out against your country. For all we know you are propaganda troll working for the Chinese government. Here you are posting on a chinese site https://ask.helplib.com/java/p... https://whois.icann.org/en/Loo... . I think the Chinese people are smart, hard working people but the Chinese government has been for some time manipulating trade and currency to benefit their own country that has gone too far.

  9. Re: What is an unfair trade practice? by Type44Q · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Communism is all well and good when it's voluntary and at a local level (i.e. neighbors digging a shared well). History shows, however, that if it requires the pointing of a gun to implement it, there's nothing fucking communal about it at all; it just becomes another form of feudalism, albeit with Kommissars instead of Lords and Barons.

    And your silly notion of "The Collective" doesn't fucking exist: human beings -are individuals.

  10. China already losing, soybeans bought by Europe. by bongey · · Score: 3, Informative

    China add tariffs to US soybeans has done nothing but harm China. Europe bought up all beans China would have been buying. LOL https://www.reuters.com/articl...

  11. Re:Ummm how about both? by nwaack · · Score: 2

    Actually, it did...until the Japs decided to bomb us. Then we rubbed their noses in their own crap. So STFU.