Tough Talk on China Ignores Some Economic Realities

The New York Times reminds us that protecting American jobs is a little more complicated than taking a tough stand on China:

Even as the presidential candidates try to outdo each other in promising to get tough on Chinese exports to protect American jobs, experts say the more immediate threat to American workers may actually be the slowing of sales to China, which has bid up the price of much of what the United States sent overseas in recent years.

Over all, China’s growth is expected to decelerate to 7.7 percent this year from last year’s breakneck 9.3 percent pace, adding to fears of a global slowdown, especially with much of Europe in recession and the economic recovery in the United States stubbornly anemic.

Already, softening demand has clipped American exports.

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If you're looking for reasons not to do business with China, there are plenty. But it's worth remembering that China is a huge economy and a market for American goods—and that's always going to factor into policy toward them, so if somebody's China policy would fit on a bumper sticker, you should probably ask some follow-up questions.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.