Why are these products coming from China?

Schroy48 · 07-15-2008, 04:15 PM

1) Frozen Flounder, Sole, & Salmon. The USA has a 26,000 mile coastline. These three species are found close to shore or in rivers. We have a 20 mile buffer preventing foreign nations from fishing in our waters. We have plenty of boats. We have less water pollution around our nation than China has.

So, why is every bag of frozen fish (above) a "Product of China"?

2) Garlic. The USA is the largest producer of garlic in the world. If you go to the store to buy powdered garlic it is most surely imported from China.

Why?

3) Apple juice. The USA produces more apples than any other country. The apples are not picked by hand like they are (slowly) in China. Yet, stamped on every bottle it says: "Product of China/Argentina".

Why?

And, one more item to think about:

4) We are the #1 importer of plastic products from China. China's largest import is oil from IRAN. Why do we knowingly indirectly send money to Iran by encouraging Americans to buy plastic products from China?

[U]Jim Kramer (on MSNBC) 7/14/08[/U]: "That communist country (China) has deliberately wrecked world trade. And, I say the word 'communist' because we should not forget what they are and have done to the world market system"

bitonti · 07-15-2008, 04:18 PM

im not an economist but it could be because cost of labor in China is miniscule, cost of farm labor in America is, by comparison, huge.

And this isn't a job like surgeon or quarterback with a high variance of talent as it relates to results. A garlic picker in any country does basically the same job.

Warfish · 07-15-2008, 04:29 PM

Only one I can speak to with any knowledge is the Fish.

The U.S. has a wide variety of restrictive harvest Laws in place to protect native stocks. For example, Flounder is already dangerously harvested over most of the Atlantic range as it is.

Partially it is to protect the far more lucrative Recreational Fishing industry. Partially it is environmentalist concerns (no fish zones, for example, as well as harvest limitations, slot limits, management, ect). Partially it is the convoluted management of a bunch of states, all with their own rules and regs, all different, and all difficult for comercial fishermen to work under (generally speaking).

What you get is poor environment to be a comercial fisherman in the U.S. It is a very tough and very poor lifestyle.

Schroy48 · 07-15-2008, 04:38 PM

[QUOTE=bitonti;2628406]im not an economist but it could be because cost of labor in China is miniscule, cost of farm labor in America is, by comparison, huge [/QUOTE]

But, we are fully mechanized which drives down the cost of labor. Any labor we need is done by illegals. What about the cost of shipping across a 6,000 mile ocean?

[/QUOTE]And this isn't a job like surgeon or quarterback with a high variance of talent as it relates to results. A garlic picker in any country does basically the same job.[/QUOTE]

But, the garlic is here already. Plus, garlic grown fairly quickly.

07-15-2008, 04:15 PM	#1
Schroy48 aka JETMAN73 - Your friendly neighbor in the next section ;) Banned Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1,910	Why are these products coming from China? 1) Frozen Flounder, Sole, & Salmon. The USA has a 26,000 mile coastline. These three species are found close to shore or in rivers. We have a 20 mile buffer preventing foreign nations from fishing in our waters. We have plenty of boats. We have less water pollution around our nation than China has. So, why is every bag of frozen fish (above) a "Product of China"? 2) Garlic. The USA is the largest producer of garlic in the world. If you go to the store to buy powdered garlic it is most surely imported from China. Why? 3) Apple juice. The USA produces more apples than any other country. The apples are not picked by hand like they are (slowly) in China. Yet, stamped on every bottle it says: "Product of China/Argentina". Why? And, one more item to think about: 4) We are the #1 importer of plastic products from China. China's largest import is oil from IRAN. Why do we knowingly indirectly send money to Iran by encouraging Americans to buy plastic products from China? [U]Jim Kramer (on MSNBC) 7/14/08[/U]: "That communist country (China) has deliberately wrecked world trade. And, I say the word 'communist' because we should not forget what they are and have done to the world market system"

07-15-2008, 04:18 PM	#2
bitonti searching Hall Of Fame Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philly Posts: 38,786	im not an economist but it could be because cost of labor in China is miniscule, cost of farm labor in America is, by comparison, huge. And this isn't a job like surgeon or quarterback with a high variance of talent as it relates to results. A garlic picker in any country does basically the same job.

07-15-2008, 04:29 PM	#3
Warfish JetsInsider.com Legend Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 35,000	Only one I can speak to with any knowledge is the Fish. The U.S. has a wide variety of restrictive harvest Laws in place to protect native stocks. For example, Flounder is already dangerously harvested over most of the Atlantic range as it is. Partially it is to protect the far more lucrative Recreational Fishing industry. Partially it is environmentalist concerns (no fish zones, for example, as well as harvest limitations, slot limits, management, ect). Partially it is the convoluted management of a bunch of states, all with their own rules and regs, all different, and all difficult for comercial fishermen to work under (generally speaking). What you get is poor environment to be a comercial fisherman in the U.S. It is a very tough and very poor lifestyle.

07-15-2008, 04:38 PM	#4
Schroy48 aka JETMAN73 - Your friendly neighbor in the next section ;) Banned Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1,910	[QUOTE=bitonti;2628406]im not an economist but it could be because cost of labor in China is miniscule, cost of farm labor in America is, by comparison, huge [/QUOTE] But, we are fully mechanized which drives down the cost of labor. Any labor we need is done by illegals. What about the cost of shipping across a 6,000 mile ocean? [/QUOTE]And this isn't a job like surgeon or quarterback with a high variance of talent as it relates to results. A garlic picker in any country does basically the same job.[/QUOTE] But, the garlic is here already. Plus, garlic grown fairly quickly.