Trade With Columbia

Right now the United States is pushing yet another trade agreement. Free trade. Doesn't exist in a world of domestic taxes and regulations but still that is the excuse of leadership pushing one bad trade agreement after another. I am not against trade. I just say that there is nothing wrong with nations charging duties as a way to tax other nations for access to their markets. It is no more than any other tax. Like any tax, yes, it can be recessionary. Nations taxing and regulating domestic companies more than foreign companies being given access to their markets does not really make sense to me. I am not saying they should go crazy with taxing imports. I am just saying a reasonable tax should not be opposed by anyone any more than any other tax is opposed.

Right now Columbia taxes us for access to their markets. We do not currently tax them to any degree. I say let them continue taxing us and we start back taxing them.

In 2007 the United States run an 880.5 million dollar trade deficit with Columbia.

In 2006 the United States run a 2,557.1 million dollar trade deficit with Columbia.

In 2005 the United States run a 3,387.0 million dollar trade deficit with Columbia.

The last trade surplus we had with Columbia was in 1998 with 159.9 million dollar trade surplus.

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Top Trading Partners in 2007

Canada 18%, China 12%, Mexico 11%, Japan 7%, Germany 5%, United Kingdom 3%, South Korea 3%, France, Taiwan, Netherlands, Brazil, Venezuela, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Singapore.

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Like I said, I am not against trade. I sell imported goods. I just say access to markets should be taxed. Access to domestic markets by foreign businesses who uses our infrastructure to some degree similar to domestic businesses should have to pay their share to keep America solvent.

I also say, the United States should not continue looking at trade and government spending as lose / lose propositions. There should be nothing wrong with the government earning a return on some of its spending programs. The notion that the government turn a profit on anything is like a major sin is bullshit. Trade agreements should be designed to make America competitive and not always designed to handicap the other players (trading partners) bowling / golf score / trade balance. Why always give the trade advantage to the other nation? Give our businesses and our workers an even playing field. Is that really too much to demand of our government playing Santa Claus around the world?

Let us understand something. Free Trade Does NOT exist. It can't exist in a world where governments exist. As long as you have taxes and regulations, Free Trade is just a bullshit term used to excuse bad trade agreements that intentionally put American businesses and workers at a disadvantage in bartering our goods and services in competitive commerce.