With all of the reliance on China for Pharmaceuticals and protective devices, masks, gloves etc. Many are starting to question our reliance on foreign countries for such essential products. A communist newspaper in China actually threatened the US supply of both over the counter and prescriptions medicines. This gives incredible validation to the pro Jones Act arguments.
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Some people are questioning the posting of propaganda without linking credible news stories. Like the Foxnews story related to this that simply goes to Xinhua, not any specific story.
Regardless of such stories, some are also suggesting that pushing an anti-China narrative at a time when they ARE a vital resource for needed meds and equipment and have the most experience with the Coronavirus is poorly timed and needlessly antagonistic when there should be a world wide joint effort to deal with a common problem so we can all get back to business. Solve problem first, then investigate all aspects to better prepare in the future.
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Gee, what kind of reptilian brain would ever think something like that was an example of good leadership?
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Iâm missing something. How does saying that foreign made products have to be imported on US vessels solve the problem of the foreign manufacturer not being willing to sell them to us?
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There is a market for those products, no matter how it is shipped. Good point.
my point is that we are suddenly finding ourselves at the mercy of China by outsourcing a large percentage of vital products. It bolsters the argument that the Jones act is in the vital interest of our security in times of crisis as it would be very difficult to scale up the Merchant Marine. I am not trying to push any agenda except to say that there is a risk to outsourcing vital industries.
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Believe me Iâm very pro jones act. But the Jones act canât force foreign manufactures to do what we want. US Flag Shipping doesnât manufacture the supplies.
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And more to the point, just imagine how long the US merchant marine would last if our commercial exports were forced by the customer nation to use ships flagged to their requirement.
Not only would we have taken our pitifully small number of American flag ships out of the inbound trade, we would lose most if not all of our outbound cargoes.
The only real power our government has in shipping is to prohibit all, every single ton, of government cargo (including government financed cargo) to be carried on American flag ships and eliminate all the scam exemptions bought by oil companies and industrial agriculture.
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You canât compare the Jones Act and vital manufactures. And at the same time, you canât waste time thinking, well, if only we made everything we need in the US⌠Cause thatâs lack of competition and lack of competition hurts cost. globalism improves costâthe end. And if you say, oh no, Iâm just talking about vital stuff! Youâre kidding yourself, as Americans horde toilet paper you see that âvitalâ is a lower threshold than previously imagined.
We need a reliable global supply chain, and sure, diversified for redundancy. But people who say,âoh China bad!â today, said âTPP badâ a few years ago and that would have help cut Chinese manufacturer influence and diversified supply chains. No country is an island any longer and none will be least of all the US. The solution to my household 100% trade deficit with Krogerâs isnât to grow my own food, itâs to shop at Walmart or Food Lion. And if I only have a Food Lion, itâs to approve the zoning for a Walmart.
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I did not say toilet paper is vital. When we do not manufacture any penicillin or most antibiotics in this country and it is vital when China is threatening our supply. A little bit of protectionism is OK.
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I didnât say you did. Iâm trying to expand your concepts. Cause the world is both bigger and smaller than you appear to think.
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I think captains should investigate as to which companies are members of organizations supporting waiver of the Jones act. Those companies who want to give our jobs to H1B1 Visa holders ( Non Americans) should be boycotted and their boats left at the dock.
They have no qualms about screwing us out of a job or putting our ports in danger. Those who seek to waive the Jones Act are not Americans, they are self serving greedy pieces of crap.
Any companies seeking to scrap Jones, should be named here.
I donât know where the members of the American Waterways Operators, stand on this. Maybe someone knows.
I would never advocate that all goods imported or exported to & from the US be carried only on Jones Act vessels. That would be completely unrealistic & makes no sense. But like most American mariners Iâm a big fan of the protectionism provided by the Jones Act & I think we need some market share of the maritime trade to be a strong nation. Holding pro-Jones Act, pro-American beliefs doesnât make you xenophobic or an isolationist no matter how much globalists try to paint you that way. It only makes sense for a nation to be somewhat self sufficient & have contingency plans for worse case scenarios. I think it is a great idea to have an economic plan & foreign relation policies that would include some protectionism for US businesses that supply vital equipment to our infrastructure to ensure the US can be somewhat self sufficient in times of global crisis. Itâs only the globalists & pro-1%'ers that wants everything to be made in China by near slave labor & Americans in debt up to their eyeballs paying for it. Itâs no coincidence that the same people who are against reducing our dependency on China are the same ones for anything to do with the EU, UN & anything else that considers America a foe.
Also, this is the perfect time to bring this subject up because the globalists & pro-1%ers are masters of fooling the American public. Hopefully in a year from now all of this will be over & the pro-China anti-Americans will be trying like the dickens to get us to forget anything that we learned from this crisis. Theyâll want us back on the Chinese teat as fast as possible, back to sending as much wealth & manufacturing to Asia as possible. Letâs talk about this now before its gets brushed under the rug IMO.
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Well that would definitely be a way to ensure they get the visas. Have you thought that through?
How long could the US manage without import of raw material and foreign made parts etc.?
Without freedom of trade and shipping of goods between nations not only the US will have problems, the rest of the world as well.That is why we have treaties and practices that ensure freedom on the oceans:
https://www.ics-shipping.org/shipping-facts/
PS> What has Jones Act got to do with International shipping and trade??
US was instigator of many such treaties and practices in the period after WWII, when it enjoyed a position as undisputed world leader and superpowerâŚ
It still has not ratified all treaties it is signatory to though, thus not able to take advantage of all the treaties it instigated in itâs time of âabsolute powerâ on the world stage. (UNCLOS etc.)
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So we keep generating revenue for those who use that revenue to lobby Washington to get rid of our jobs ? Have you thought that through ?
I honestly donât seek to disagree with you. But whatâs your plan ?
No one here is advocating such.
No one said anything of the kind.
No one saying it can. Heâs just making a comparison between outsourcing manufacturing and outsourcing labor. The Jones act protects shipping from being completely outsourced to China like production of the things he mentioned in his OP was.
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Just-in-time man! Kaizen manufacturing and six sigma jiu-jitsu black belt is going to save the day.
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I didnât say nor imply anybody was. But I did say the pro-China, pro-EU/UN globalists try to paint anyone with pro-American/pro-Jones Act point of views as xenophobic & as isolationists. I said what I did to make it perfectly clear that wanting the US to be somewhat self-sufficient concerning manufacturing vital equipment doesnât make a person an isolationists.
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