>The ball is trade deficits buttressed a regime
>totally hostile to trade unionism, democracy, and
>human rights, which deficits diminish the standard
>of living of U.S. workers and which regime degrades
>labor standards internationally.
It is not China but the USA that has been & will be a regime totally hostile to trade unionism, democracy, & human rights *internationally*. Neoliberalism was first put into practice by the Pinochet dictatorship supported by the US government. The Bretton Woods institutions have been practically controlled by the American ruling class, and it is through them that neoliberalism has been imposed on the world in the name of SAPs. And it isn't China but the American governing elite that have attacked social programs & trade unionism *here*. Most importantly, it is not Chinese but American politicians that have created Lockdown America with *millions* of Americans languishing in jails and prisons. Hey, what about more human rights here? By focusing on China, organized labor is truly wasting time, money, & manpower; the impact of China on American workers & world politics is minuscule, compared to the U.S. government's.
As for trade deficits, it appears that the AFL-CIO would have no problem with the state of unionism, democracy, and human rights in the rest of the world if the USA ran trade surpluses (perceived to benefit American manufacturing workers). The AFL-CIO used to support "free trade" when it mainly meant more exports of goods made in America (which is to say until the mid-1970s or thereabout). It makes neither economic nor political sense to say that U.S. trade deficits are caused by the lack of Chinese democracy. From what I have experienced, Japan is neither more nor less democratic than America; it has run trade surpluses vis-a-vis America because the saving rates have been high in Japan and low in America. The proximate cause of U.S. trade deficits is that, being a hegemon, America can borrow & spend without saving (current account deficits being mirror images of capital account surpluses). Harping on trade deficits so much, organized labor may end up reinforcing the voices of economists hectoring us about the evils of low domestic saving rates, the virtues of balanced budgets, etc.
Yoshie