Let’s Just Pretend We Didn’t Offshore Manufacturing

[Teamster Jeff]

>>>
Is an iPhone made in China and exported to Europe a U.S. export? Yes

Is an Apple executive a manufacturing worker? Yes

At least those could become the answers if a new proposal afoot among some in the administration is allowed to take effect. Federal agencies grouped under the bland-sounding Economic Classification Policy Committee (ECPC) are proposing to radically redefine U.S. manufacturing and trade statistics.

Under the proposal, U.S. firms that have offshored their production abroad – like Apple – would become “factoryless goods” manufacturers. The foreign factories that actually manufacture the goods – like the notorious iPhone-producing Foxconn factories in China – would no longer be manufacturers, but “service” providers for the rebranded “manufacturing” firms like Apple.

It appears the administration has been reading Orwell.
>
While some details of the proposal remain open-ended, one thing is clear: this maneuver would obscure the erosion of U.S. manufacturing. It would disguise the mass-offshoring of U.S. middle-class factory jobs incentivized by NAFTA-style trade deals. It would undermine efforts to change the unfair trade and other policies that have led to such decline.
>>>

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[n2doc]

1. Anything to make bad look good n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

2. We need a Democratic Administration to put a halt to this nonsense & protect American workers!!

[font size=1 color = gray] oh, wait…[/font]

[maddiemom]

12. Oh, wait...

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Indeed.

[saidsimplesimon]

3. Jeff, based on our President's support for the EU actions in Ukraine,

I can only assume the current administration is part of the world problem, no solutions, more greed, more weapons exporting, more poverty for the masses.

[Teamster Jeff]

7. When he backs trade deals like the TPP and the TTIP

His statements about helping American workers is just straight up Bullshit

[saidsimplesimon]

15. Jeff, I've been the recipient of hide ratings. A shock

on a liberal site, for me. Goes with the political territory, yet, a sad commentary on the state of our democracy?

I refuse to offer a "pledge" of fealty to those who disrespect the opinions of others.

[NBachers]

4. More lies- these people will never, ever stop. Thanks for posting this.

[pa28]

5. Meanwhile we've got a record core trade deficit and new trade deals on the way.

Not difficult to see what they're up to here.

[Teamster Jeff]

9. What happened to the 70,000 jobs that the Korea Free Trade deal was supposed to create?

Never happened. U.S. workers lost 40,000 jobs in the first year.

Whoops! Better find a way to fudge the numbers going forward.

[abelenkpe]

6. Can we pretend we didn't offshore tech, entertainment and VFX work too?

I love how no one wants to admit both side facilitated the loss of so many jobs.
Where are the candidates running with the promise of bringing that work back? Who have realistic proposals like tariffs or tax penalties for companies that offshore?

[antigop]

8. Good questions,abelenkpe. Don't expect Hillary "outsourcing will continue" Clinton to help. nt

[silvershadow]

10. I'd love the pretend that the Clintons didn't further that. There is plenty of blame to go around,

but Ross Perot was right. Clinton triangulated himself quite well, and the deed was done. (Oh, and, by the way, I am in the "Anybody but Hlllary" crowd for now. Go Bernie! Go Lizzie! Go Sheldon! Go Grayson!) But yeah, it sucks that we totally sold out our entire country.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. what I would give to have furniture factories and textile mills back in the USA.

[abelenkpe]

17. Would certainly improve the quality

Both have gone down since being offshored. Funny that prices have not.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. and would certainly improve the quality of life over here. Ghost towns where

once were thriving communities.

[TeamPooka]

13. K&R!

[Populist_Prole]

14. It's almost as if they KNOW we know they're BS-ing us and are thumbing their noses at us

It's so obvious. They've reached their critical mass and we've lost ours. "Trust me" has now become "Fuck off". Or, "fuck off, but y'know, the other guys are even worse than us".

Not good.

[saidsimplesimon]

16. Prole, not good at all, divide and conquer is an

idea so old. Who can resist the temptation?

[Populist_Prole]

20. Would that it could be "join up and conquer" the plutocrats

If people could put aside petty differences. "God & guns" and the like, and all that other stupid shit.