Mottl: Trump is right to confront China’s high-tech theft

In Market Watch Thursday, Chicago area manufacturer Zach Mottl shares his thoughts about the Trump Administration’s tariff strategy with China … and why he believes the president is right.

Mottl is TMA’s Government Relations Committee chairman and Chief Alignment Officer for his family’s Atlas Tool & Die Works.

Zach Mottl

Here’s an excerpt from the editorial – Chairman Mottl’s personal opinion – not an official stance on behalf of TMA:

While previous administrations have engaged in fruitless diplomacy with China, it appears that President Donald Trump is finally confronting Beijing on its behavior. Last week, the president announced tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods whose production was boosted by hacking, espionage, and illegal subsidies. Amazingly though, Beijing has now responded by doubling down. Rather than negotiate a halt to its behavior, China is vowing to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. goods. The president’s team seems not to be cowed by the bluster, however, and has promised to identify another $200 billion in tariff measures if Beijing follows through on its threats.

Last year, the U.S. racked up a $375 billion trade deficit with China, the largest bilateral trade deficit in world history. And where the U.S. ran a $5 billion trade surplus on advanced technology products in 2000, by last year that had shifted dramatically to a $110 billion deficit.

U.S. manufacturers have a justifiable list of grievances. Whether it’s due to hacking and theft or unfair state subsidies, U.S. firms continue to lose ground to China. And when U.S. firms attempt to sell products in China, they are required to “share” technology — which gives them short-term market access but surrenders long-term technological viability.

Even major U.S. firms are fighting to stay in business.

The rest of the opinion piece is HERE on Market Watch.