Free Trade

Nationalism was once a universal fashion and with it, it spawned national self-interest. It is best exampled today by the Trump philosophy of America First.

Therefore, once upon a time there was no such thing as Free Trade, (FT).

But it was the genius of America that fostered and promoted this idea. 

The first of the FT's was the North American Free Trade Area, (NAFTA). By its examples it had the statistics to show that the co-participating economies of America, Mexico and Canada benefited and profited greatly.

The next FT area was the Association of South East Asian Nations, (ASEAN). Today, ASEAN is the 6th largest world economy.

Then came Mercosur a South American trade bloc consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela was a full member but has been suspended since December 1, 2016.

At the time of Global Financial Collapse, (GFC), China stepped in to help the ASEAN FTA by offering free trade with it which they deeply appreciated.

Implicit to, in and for a FTA to be possible is truthfulness, goodness, amity, friendship, good manners and respect between the partners. 

These virtues were apparently taken to be in situ in the unfolding trading between American and China.

Now, it seems that these virtues have been undermined.

In the second last meeting for US/China trade talks in Washington, the rumour was that the US delegation began to take on the stance of aggressive, bullying, verbally vulgar co-participating free trading thug with the Chinese delegation.

 The head of the Chinese delegation is a Vice Premier of China was unable to sit and continue to take the opposite of kind, friendly and amicable language of the US delegation. He in fact terminated the meeting and walked out of the talks.

There was zero contact between the two delegations for 50 days. And oddly, you could sense that Donald Trump was eager to meet with the Chinese President at the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan.

Out of this meeting it Trump and Xi agreed to re-vivify the trade talks. You really have to wonder what would have followed on if they agreed to call off the trade talks permanently. 

Now that it has restarted, Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on the last remaining tranche of products that the US imports from China. This is known as gesture of amity and friendship with love and magnanimity towards China. 

What few people realize is that the US trade with China is only 4% of China's foreign trade.

So at the first restarted meeting that took place in Shanghai, for the US delegation was this item of their agenda: 

The restoration of China's purchase

 of US agricultural products.

The Chinese delegation with the deepest of sorrow regretted that they had to blame the US for forcing it to complete an agricultural treaty with Russia in the last 50 days of zero contact. In this treaty Russia has agreed that by its terms, she will not do everything possible to supply all China's cereal needs in relation to soya, sorghum,wheat, barley and millet. We are looking at hundreds of billions of US $ per year in this trade deal.

It was rumoured that upon hearing this the faces of the US delegation drained white, their mouths open and eyes widened in bewilderment and slowing their chins lowered to touch their respective chest. There was an an appallingly thunderous silence except for the terrible sadness of the Chinese delegation in which  a tear or two of one or two the Chinese delegation wept for what they had done to the US delegation.

These 2 delegations will have their next meeting in Washington. It is rumoured this will be the agenda of the meeting - that the US will: 

1. demand the right for Donald Trump to express his anger, bitterness, frustration and fury at what China has done to the US by its treaty with Russia

2. when he has finished, Trump will storm out of the meeting by yelling, shouting, howling and screaming a slew of rude, crude and vulgar invectives at the Chinese, just the way he did when he was done with that slut of a whore, Stormy Daniels

3. then the US will use all its Number One HEGEMONIC POWER to force China to break its trade treaty with the Russians and force China to buy US agricultural products. Of course China will have to pay 25% more than whatever will be quoted in the Chicago Commodities Exchange

4. all tariffs for all imported products will rise to 30%.

5. upon their return home. the Chinese delegation will tell Xi that Donald will not receive any phone call from Xi begging him to be merciful; and his diplomatic visa to come to Washington is  now declared null and void as Donald will NOT endure any pleadings from Xi.

It has been rumoured that the only thing that will satisfy Donald is if Xi will return to him, gratis, the US $13.00 he owes the US by his illegal trading doings. If he does not he will take China to the General Assembly of the UN, the UN Security Council, the International Court at the Hague, The World Trade Organization, the EU Court of Justice, to the Vatican and to the Council of Elders of the Taliban of Afghanistan.