Protectionists have a magic word, a word of talismanic power. The word is “China.” So potent is its spell that it shuts down any argument for free trade, however tangential the connection to the dreadful regime in Beijing (about which, for the avoidance of doubt, I am more hawkish than most).
China makes politicians lose all sense of proportionality. Never mind that U.S. manufacturing has risen in value from $1.5 trillion to $2.5 trillion since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001; or that the sectors exposed to Chinese competition have created jobs faster than the rest of the economy; or that the few factory jobs lost in those sectors have been replaced by more, and better-paid, jobs in design, research, and marketing; or that China has a better record of compliance with WTO rulings than the U.S. has.
President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese Pres …