Outsourcing To China Versus American Production

I was getting ready to go to bed and I read and saw a couple of news articles. One was about all the toxic products, like toys and sheetrock, that China sells to the rest of the world and the other about clothes made in foreign countries using child labor and having little if any safety checks. Anyways, I had a thought about how to improve the products sold here and make American producers more competitive. What if we required all products sold in America to meet the same requirements that we make of American companies?

I know this is crazy; but, what if we held foreign companies selling in the United States to the same rules that we hold our own companies to? Why does our government allow foreign companies to sell in America; but, not require them to not use slave labor or children or put toxins in the products they sell here? Does allowing toxic products from foreign countries to be sold in America protect Americans? I don't see how. And if you think about it, making that requirement would increase the profitability of American manufacturers. Heck, if you are liberal and believe in global warming, the requirement that other countries companies meet American pollution standards to sell in America you would decrease global warming. For conservatives, making foreign countries follow the same rules for selling in America as we do our own companies is even better than a tariff. It takes longer to meet health and safety laws than to pay an extra fee. Oh, and buy the way, the United States holds a lot more patents on clean air products than China, just look at their smog and it should be clear. They haven't invested much in clean technology.

Let's go a little bit deeper. Every American company should be in favor of what I have proposed. Heck, if the real problem is American wages or unions then it will still make sense to outsource our jobs because our competitors in foreign countries would still be cheaper. We are willing to tell other countries what weapons they can and cannot make; but, don't believe it is right to tell them what products they can sell here?

By the way, the free trade agreements make it so we cannot question the methods employed by foreign countries in making products for sale in the United States and also allows corporations to sue the United States for having standards, like age and safety requirements. That is what the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is all about. Fight any trade agreements that do not put basic health and safety requirements on goods to be sold in this country.