I was dismayed to hear Jennifer Fuller's report on WSIU radio citing the study regarding the U.S. trade deficit with China and its supposed influence on American jobs, without a hint that it might be biased. The Economic Policy Institute, which produced the report, is identified as "left-leaning". As the reporters like to say, follow the money: the report was funded by labor unions and the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which are also hostile to trade.

The protectionism advocated by these parties is a form of extortion, forcing consumers to involuntary pay higher prices. Most economists will tell you that Americans as a group are net winners from trade and globalization.

The EPI ignores the creation of jobs elsewhere in the economy that are made possible by trade and globalization, which creates jobs not only through exports but also through foreign capital flowing into the United States creates jobs through direct investment in U.S. companies and indirectly by lowering interest rates, which stimulates more domestic investment.

Even when trade does displace workers, in a flexible and growing economy, new jobs are created elsewhere. In fact, job losses in manufacturing during the past decade have been more than offset by net job gains in better-paying services sectors.