Our trade war with China hurts Americans, but doesn't help Americans • Daily Montanan

Since the end of World War II, our politicians have found it advantageous to always have another nation or group of nations pose an overwhelming threat to the United States. They use it to “unite” us against “the other”, whoever they may be.

But the downsides of such a stupid and short-sighted approach to coexistence on the only planet we have now far outweigh the dubious benefits and are having a negative impact on our nation, our people and our chances of having a livable future. .

Ironically, our former enemies, the Germans and Japanese, are now our allies. And the Russians, our former allies during World War II, are now our enemies. But Russia's threat to the United States is so diminished that we must now find someone else to hate, fear, and claim as, in the recent words of Senator Jon Tester of Montana, “our adversaries.” foreigners.”

It is certain that when it comes to defining “adversaries,” these same politicians have no problem coming up with hypothetical threats out of nowhere. Thus, our great adversary in achieving the unachievable goal of “global domination” is now determined to be China.

How, one might ask, can China be an adversary when virtually everything you can buy is labeled “Made in China”? This is so ridiculous that it would be laughable if the consequences weren't so dire, and they are.

The Biden administration, alongside its predecessor Donald Trump, is now imposing outlandish tariffs and outright bans on Chinese goods. Be careful, not on all the products that flood the shelves of all stores, but on products that would offer a better future to Americans and the planet.

More recently, these “tariff targets” include solar panels and electric cars, both produced in China at prices well below those offered by domestic producers. The old adage “don’t cut off your nose to upset your face” seems particularly applicable to these two articles.

First, and perhaps most importantly, the primary way to break our dependence on fossil fuels and slow the accelerating march toward climate catastrophe is to replace these fuels with clean electric power. As anyone who owns solar panels will tell you, once installed, they produce maintenance-free electricity for decades. Improvements in solar panel technology are making huge strides and show even more promise for clean, affordable energy for the future.

Yet, hiding behind the election year ploy of “protecting domestic manufacturers,” the imposition of such tariffs significantly slows the implementation of clean energy production for our population.

Simply put, this protectionism is a far cry from the so-called free market system that our politicians like to hail as the solution to all our problems. Our utility companies also don't want to see any competition from rooftop solar panels for their control of production, prices and profits on their centrally produced electricity.

Then there are Chinese electric cars that would sell for around $12,000 in the United States without the outrageous import duties. Compare this with a Tesla, which costs four to ten times more expensive. If our politicians were serious about helping American families cope with the crushing costs of inflation, being able to buy an affordable and reliable electric car should be their top priority, not their main goal.

These are just two examples of our ridiculous trade policies that are harming our people, instead of helping them, and efforts to combat climate catastrophe. There are too many for one column, but it seems abundantly clear that portraying China as an adversary is a foolish and losing proposition. The real mystery is why our vote-seeking politicians fail to recognize the harm they actually cause by chattering about jobs and hiding behind the curtain of “national security” – especially when their actions make us less, not more, secure.