Army Bob: What happens if we stop trade with China?

by Robert M. Traxler

What will happen if the government of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) embargoes trade with the United States? Or China invades Taiwan?

Even the folks who worship at the altar of climate change, those who demand the United States stops mining the evil coal, are now agreeing that China is the world’s leader in carbon emissions, with India not far behind.  It seems that it is perfectly fine for China to burn train loads of dirty North Korean coal to make the things we need, to not only live, but survive.

China could use hard, much cleaner West Virginia coal, but the environmental movement has targeted American coal as the Satan of the environment, “dirtier” softer North Korean coal not so much. Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.

The Chinese polluting to make the products we must have is fine, and as we all know, the anti-pollution environmental standards are very relaxed for the Chinese, thanks to the United Nations and our government, who provide them with woke cover to pollute massively in the name of equity, as if there is a difference between American carbon and Chinese carbon.

So, just what would happen if the Chinese decided to stop trade with us? We are dependent on the PRC for many products that are not merely convenience items but lifesaving items as well. We witnessed during the opening months of the COVID-19 outbreak (that came from China, by the way) that the availability of face coverings was damned near nonexistent; even the vital N95 masks were in very short supply, as China kept them for domestic use.

According to the Wall Street Journal, China and another Asian nations produce 70% of the ingredients for all pharmaceuticals we consume, with nearly all ibuprofen coming from China, along with almost 50% of our vital anticoagulant Heparin, coming from the PRC. Would you depend on only one drug store for life saving medications?

China produces a large number of semiconductors and micro-chips, as do Taiwan and Japan. We have seen the impact of the shortage of chips on the auto industry. If China invades Taiwan, we are in deep crap, for many things, nearly everything we need to sustain everyday life, contain a microchip; phones, credit cards, medical equipment, planes, trains, and autos, most everything you plug in or that uses a battery. Take a few seconds and think that one over.

Made in the USA to a large part means assembled in the United States; the components come for all over the world, with China’s components grabbing an ever-increasing market share. The iPhones are primarily produced in Shenzhen, China, and more than 40% of all smart phones are made in China, and the percent is growing rapidly.

Their hold on pharmaceuticals is particularly terrifying; most of us have had our lives saved by antibiotics, and we routinely take antibiotics to stave off infections. Add in the use of antibiotics in the food chain (beef, chicken, and fish), and it is a catastrophe in the making. Antibiotics are also used by our pets.

Let’s not forget that the American left is now in bed with corporate America (if money talks, corporations pay off Democrats at the national level more than Republicans). Couple this with China being able to produce products cheaper in part because of lax environmental standards, and it is a marriage made in heaven for the corporate balance sheet.

Toss in those who think Americans are the source of all pollution evil, facts be damned, and we have happy environmentalists and corporate billionaires, Soros, Gates, Bezos, Musk, Bloomberg, among others. Corporations who give a small percentage of their profit to the proper people and organizations like Black Lives Matter and pledge the woke unbinding goal of being carbon neutral by 2050 (the new 2030 when the promise of the end of life on earth being a fact certain was guaranteed), and all corporate sins are forgiven or at least postponed or ignored.

If we can’t get French wine or German beer it would be an inconvenience, but millions would not die. Cut our supply of antibiotics and pharmaceuticals from China and Taiwan (China sent nuclear capable bombers into Taiwan’s air space Oct. 2nd and 3rd), and the long-term impact would make the Chinese COVID-19 virus outbreak look like a mild flu season of old. If this does not scare you it should.

The socialist Democrat party wants to spend trillions on the pending spending bill with no thought of protecting our national health from the lack of life-saving drugs. Woke spending is vital to them, but protecting all Americans from a pending disaster is not even an afterthought.

My opinion.