Forbes: Trump nails Jeb Bush on his clueless Boeing comment during debate
Forbes, January 15, 2016
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Trump suggested that because of the size of its market, America has enormous unused leverage over foreign trade partners, and the mere threat of tariffs could be enough to bring a trade cheater like China to heel. Bush replied that therell be retaliation and mentioned Boeing as a major example of a company that would suffer.
This was the opening Trump needed. Referring to Chinese leaders, he commented: They order planes. They make Boeing build their plant in China
. That is not how the game is supposed to be played.
In other words the well-paid jobs that Boeings American workers should have are already being transferred to Americas most problematic trade partner.
Bushs only response to this knuckle sandwich was to smile wanly and say, Come on, man.
Boeings decision to build a plant in China was announced last September and was jumped on by Trump at the time as a classic example of all that is wrong with U.S. trade policy.
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The key thing here is that in being required to produce in China, Boeing will be forced to transfer many of its most valuable production secrets to Chinese soil. They can be expected then to migrate rapidly to Comac, a state-owned, Shanghai-based aerospace company which is targeting the passenger jet business, a business hitherto owned by the duopoly of Boeing and Toulouse-based Airbus.
As noted in the article, after a hundred years of exclusive American production of Boeing's commercial aircraft, for the first time, a production plant will be built in China. Another ruthless punch in the gut of American workers. And goodbye to a wealth of exclusive American production data, to China. How in sam hill can this EVER be allowed to happen to American intellectual property? Who is running this show?
And Jeb Bush will never give a damn. He has his
own reasons to back-channel relations with the Chinese.
Will the media get the gumption to ask Jeb Bush about his multiple trips to China? Hey, it's a Bush Family tradition.
AP via
Politico
Thank you for calling this self-entitled jerk out, Mr. Trump. You are correct. This is not the way it's supposed to work for American workers.