FREE TRADE AND THE ENVIROMENT | Teen Ink

FREE TRADE AND THE ENVIROMENT

October 27, 2008
By Anonymous

The Government should not allow imports from countries with weaker environmental regulations than the United States. Environmental regulations put a strain on American businesses, as well as any other country that has environmental regulations. Those regulations are put into place to protect the environment in which we live. American businesses do not really have a choice not to abide by those regulations without being heavily fined. According to Walter E. Williams’ article, “Goodies Cost”, $451 billion in regulatory costs was paid by small firms in 2000. If American businesses have to take the burden of paying these regulatory fees, then why should our government opt for foreign importers who offer cheaper products, and do not follow the same regulations American businesses follow?

From an economist’s point of view, it would make sense to import from a country who manufacturers cheaper goods, even though they might have weaker environmental regulations than we do. This benefits the consumer due to lower price of the goods. But those imports hurt American producers of the same goods. If the government believes the environment is truly important to them, then they should not encourage poor environmental stewardship of other countries while it discourages this here in America. The government should only import from countries that have a lower World Price than our Domestic Price if they meet our environmental regulations. If the government is more concerned about money, then they should disband our environmental regulations, making our Domestic Price lower, or more competitive with the World Price, benefitting both consumers and producers.

One must also take into account the fact third world countries do not have the technology to produce goods in an environmentally friendly fashion. Third world countries also have hundreds of thousands of people who work for almost anything and live in squalor. If our government were to cut off ties with these countries then we would be making the lives for all of the people who make a living in that country worse, decreasing their standard of living.

This issue is important to me because during these very difficult economic times American companies are going to have to start making some tough decisions. American consumers are going to have less purchasing power, and in response American companies will have to lower prices. The only real way to do this is find cheaper labor. That cheaper labor will come from those third world countries that do not uphold our environmental regulations. This is why I believe it unspeakably important to elect a president who will discover how to solve this very important issue that will affect everyone in the world. The American people need a President who will place the country first and not eliminate the American worker for cheaper prices. America needs a President who has the experience to analyze the situation, make a plan, and execute it. America needs John McCain.


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This article has 4 comments.


on Jan. 15 2020 at 1:19 pm
SolInvictus76, Leavenworth, Indiana
0 articles 0 photos 70 comments
Actually, free trade allows all to get richer simultaneously, and, in 2020, look at what free trade has done for the United States! Regulations hurt business, and the government has always made things worse: in healthcare, the economy, education, race relations; Get the government out of our lives!

Lydiah DIAMOND said...
on Apr. 10 2016 at 3:54 am
Lydiah DIAMOND, Manhattan Beach, California
66 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"beauty is truth, truth beauty" - john keats

John McCain is one of my more favored Republicans-- however, Bernie Sanders' views on free trade seem to me the best. He recognizes the role of global trade in a cooperative world economy, but also realizes its limitations. Free trade must have limitations because it so often leads to exploitation of foreign workers,corrupt trade deals, and of course damage to U.S. workers. It is important to find a balance. I don't think John McCain is the person to do it, though-- considering it's 2016, not 2008. There doesn't seem to be much chance of a President McCain, I'm sorry to say for your sake.

mplo said...
on Jan. 20 2016 at 12:08 pm
The trouble is, however, that even now, over half a century after President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned against military intervention into other countries' affairs, the United States is still at it. We've got to start fixing our own back yard, and do that right away.

Sunshine said...
on Nov. 15 2008 at 6:02 pm
Well, apparently America didn't want John McCain. -- To fix the economy, we need to stop tripping on the everyman in order to make the rich richer! Think about it. Bush said, basically, if the super-rich were richer, they would be looser with their money and have even more excess to toss around and wealth would trickled down. That's why he gave the richest people tax cuts.HE WAS WRONG. The extremely rich just get tighter and tighter with their money and stingier and stingier. Look at the economic crisis! Now the big shots are asking the everyman to save them with tax funded bailouts. As for the enviorement, I don't think jumping down other countries throats it the right way to go. We can encourage enviromentalism, but we need to start here, in the USA. But you seem like you can be a good writer, I just totaly disgree with you 100%