The promise of globalization and the end of borders as advanced by leftists, who like to label themselves as Progressives, is now in question. Political pundits who for years advanced policies that led to our dependency for goods that we once manufactured now have the gall to blame the president when it was their policies that led to the rise of China and our dependency.
For the last few decades, we have watched the left’s advancement of globalism, multiculturalism, and a world with no borders, to the detriment of our nation-state. Nationalism was viewed with disdain by the media elite and their counterparts in academia as an outdated paradigm to be relegated to the dustbin of history.
In their effort to advance their mission, they created NAFTA, and under Bill Clinton, free trade with China was initiated in 2000. China was officially welcomed into the World Trade Organization in 2001 with promises to reform tariffs and policies, tariff reductions, and open markets. China also received Most Favored Nations Status. Its admittance significantly resulted in it receiving the lowest tariffs, fewer trade barriers, and the highest import quotas.
Many of America’s once thriving manufacturing companies moved their operations overseas, where cheap labor and fewer stifling regulations promised hefty profits and less governmental interference. As a result, millions lost their jobs in cities throughout the United States. The Rust Belt, once the manufacturing heartland of America in states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, experienced urban decay and losses in population due to deindustrialization. Our leading auto manufacturers, steel suppliers, pharmaceuticals, and clothing manufacturers suddenly became a thing of the past. Cities like Detroit lost their base, as did Cleveland, a large supplier of steel. Currently, the Chinese produce 50% of the world’s steel. American aluminum manufacturers during the ’50s and ’60s provided 80% of the world’s supply, but by 2014, it had dwindled to 32%. We used to be a sizable supplier of rare earth minerals, but today, 80% of rare earth minerals critically needed in the production of cell phones, missile systems, hybrid cell batteries, and solar panels is mined in China. Additionally, 80% of our pharmaceuticals are now manufactured in Communist China. As China employed unfair trade deals that imposed huge tariffs upon our goods, it became clear that we were losing our economic edge and taking a backseat to a rising tyrannical world power.
[…]
