Importing goods from other countries has many benefits, such as allowing American businesses to offer customers more products and lower prices. Unfortunately, those cheap products come with a very high cost for our nation.
First, importing foreign goods puts American businesses and workers at a disadvantage. Many other countries don’t have laws to protect workers and the environment. In China, businesses making everything from lithium batteries to toys use forced labor or child labor, and many countries are lenient about factory pollution. Without restrictions, businesses can produce their goods more cheaply, making them inexpensive to buy elsewhere in the world. How can American businesses that pay their workers more and foot the cost of high environmental standards compete, at home or on the global market, against companies that adhere to lower standards?