I recently received an email from my friend down in Pensacola relating to globalization. He definitely had the trend correct although some of his facts are in dispute.

One does not think about the trend toward globalization except for President Trump. He has brought to light the unfairness of the US trade deals with other nations. Let me be more precise–the editor of this paper has spoken out against President Trump’s tax on newsprint from Canada. He says that small town newspapers cannot afford to purchase US newsprint. In today’s news, some judge in our Federal Trade Agency has ruled that the tariff on newsprint from Canada is illegal. It beats me that a US judge can specify what is or isn’t a fair trade deal. We that were engaged in the Forestry Industry know that Canada has been dealing unfairly with the US in the lumber market for years. Canada subsidizes the lumber market that allows Canadian lumber to unfairly compete with the US timber market.

Remember the giant textile industry that existed in the United States? This is especially true for the local Valley and LaFayette areas. By moving the textile mills to Mexico, the industry could produce manufactured textiles for a fraction of what it cost in the US. Except for those who lost their jobs, the American public was delighted to purchase a cotton shirt manufactured out of the country for $10 compared to the same shirt manufactured in the US at $20. In thinking about it, a $10 tariff would create an equal market.

The other view is the average person has only a modest amount of purchasing power. Is it wrong to initiate a tariff on needed products such as textiles? Is it wrong for this newspaper to use cheaper paper produced in Canada and thus allowing it to continue to operate? In other words, what is fair trade?

I think President Trump is right that tariffs should be FAIR and PROTECT our nation’s industries. However, that is not going to happen as us tight wads are going to buy the needed item with no thought to whether it is manufactured in the US or OUT OF COUNTRY. The rejection of the United States potential tariff on Canadian manufactured newsprint makes my point.

Attached is my Florida friend view of a definition of globalization that I can understand to which I now can relate:

QUESTION: What is the truest definition of Globalization?

ANSWER: The events surrounding the tragic death of Princess Diana

QUESTION: How come?

ANSWER: An English Princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French Tunnel while riding in a German car, with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish Whiskey (check the bottle before you change the spelling), followed closely by Italian Paparazzi on Japanese motorcycles and was treated by an American doctor using Brazilian medicines.  This is sent to you by a Canadian using American Bill Gate’s technology, and you are probably reading this on your computer that uses Taiwanese chips and a Korean monitor assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian truck drivers hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen and trucked to you by Mexicans who are in the US illegally.

That, my friends, is GLOBALIZATION!