Myth One: Imports kill jobs
Myth Two: Exchange rates drive trade
Myth Three: Trade balance is a national matter
Myth Four: America’s trade “deficit” is “bad”
Myth Five: Foreigners finance America
These commonly held concepts of trade balances are based on 15th-century accounting techniques. Politicians misled by these outdated ideas have made cheap, vote-grabbing protectionist policies that reduce to “saving jobs by fighting unfair imports”. One result of such sophistry has been two senseless world wars.
The paradigm has to move into the 21st century. A first step is to include multinational corporations’ incredibly successful overseas activities when calculating trade balances. Enzio von Pfeil invented this approach in 1987 and has been applying it in his research and in the press since. His key message is that if politicians keep using simplistic protectionist policies, they are courting retaliation in the countries where they operate, thereby nurturing terrorism as well as threatening the existence of their corporations operating abroad. Politicians' rhetoric will create "host country protectionism". Watch the leaders in those countries that host MNCs' overseas operations retaliate against protectionist rhetoric of politicians in the MNCs' parent countries. "Host country protectionism" means that the hosts make life difficult for foreign MNCs. This is what Chapter VIII is about in this revised 2009 edition.
If such politicians are threatening these multinationals’ overseas operations—why are these companies financing the campaigns of these politicians?
