US Trade Interests

Joanna Vodola

American Foreign Policy

Assignment 2

2) What are the US interests in trade?  Is it to create a freer, more prosperous world, to satisfy local intersess by 'winning' trade, to serve interest groups, or to build a US led world order?  Or is it some combination of the above?

Before the use of fossil fuels, international trade for the United States was very limited. George Washington and many of the other founders imagined an isolated, self-sufficient nation with little dependence on foreign trade. Even so, the southern economy depended on slaves, which were considered imported. However, the United States could not stop the wave of global change which began just before World War I and has continued through present day. The United States government understood the need for a strong economy to become a global super power. While the world continued to shrink, the United States took advantage of any occasion to increase their realm of power under the disguise of democracy. 

While trading with other nations, when it was favorable to the United State, the US government encouraged other developing democracies to grow through the global market. For example, many countries in South America failed to diversify their economies creating a dependence on foreign trade that the US and some European nations, benefitted from the most. For example, agriculture is the largest industry in Argentina, but most of their products are exported. While Argentina had major domestic issues, foreign investors pulled away and allowed Argentina to crumble until those issues were solved. The United States had no interest in helping Argentina through its trials because there was no major capital to be gained from doing so. Despite the United States encouraging Argentina to become a democracy in the first place. 

Another, more recent, example is Venezuela, where American investors pulled out of after they realized the encroaching domestic turmoil. The United States has allowed Venezuela to crumble as well even though they had been one of our biggest suppliers of oil. 

Making our way around the world, the same is true in Africa. The United States tends to stay away from African nations in all respects because the loss would more likely be greater than the gain. While the US does trade some with African nations, we pull out of nations when domestic turmoil threatens economic investment. The United States does not involve itself with nations that cannot support themselves unless it is a threat to national security. 

What conclusion can be drawn from this pattern in US foreign trade policy? The United States has no real interest in spreading democracy that does not benefit our economy or have another strategic advantage. Consider China. The United States has no problem trading with China, a self-declared communist nation, because it is beneficial for the United States economy. It also takes some of the heat off the United States in terms of human rights violations and environmental policy. The American owned/ based companies invest in China, through factories, raw materials, etc. because labor is cheap and abundant. China has few laws concerning workers’ rights and even fewer that are enforced. American companies knowingly invest in Chinese labor to side step the laws regarding workers’ rights in the United States. However, the government does nothing to stop this behavior as the race to the bottom ensues.

The United States has an amazing ability to side-step the blame for any type of moral accountability in economics. The US promotes democracy most when is benefits the economy. They also ignore human rights and environmental repercussions by outsourcing labor to other countries. However, if any of these countries are even caught in a tight spot, the United States pulls out and moves onto the next.