Free Trade Agreement Between America and China

A free trade agreement is a pact between two or more countries in which they release all tariffs, quotas, and other barriers to trade. China and America are two economically advanced countries. They are globally interdependent on each other. China has cheap labor, and America has resources. They depend on each other to make good products that consumers will want to buy. That, in turn, will boost both countries’ economies.
Barriers that will affect trade
Trading with China is a good idea(Matter of personal opinion and quite subjective, it is also too broad in its scope), but there are many barriers. For example, China and America are on opposite sides of the northern hemisphere. Normal everyday travel from Houston to Beijing takes about 24 hours. One of the challenges companies face when trading with Chinese companies is making sure that goods/resources don’t spoil in transit.
Another barrier is the type of government. China has a communist government and America has a republic. The different types of government might have different views on the same topic. That might lead to conflict. In turn, goods will take longer to make, and the whole process will cost more.
Global interdependence and Effects of the trade agreement
The free trade agreement will bring global interdependence. Global interdependence is when different countries depend on each other and work together. In the case of trade, global interdependence is very important. Different countries have different materials. For example, if Zimbabwe has all of the raw materials, and France has all of the machinery, then they need to depend on each other to make products and goods. Maybe then the countries will need to use a ship built in England to carry their goods across the ocean.Global interdependence will bring countries closer together.
Signing a free trade agreement with China will also have many effects on both countries. They might be positive or negative, and they will affect the political, social, and economic parts of the economies.
Politically
With global interdependence comes talking and trading. Different leaders will need to talk to each other about trading goods, making products, etc. They get in each others’ business and communicate more. Soon, they will grow to trust each other and they might start talking about other factors to make our countries and government better. However, if they cannot reach an agreement, there will be troubles. Leaders might start fighting. The worst case scenario would be if no one could reach an agreement and a war started.
Socially
Global trade between two countries can affect both countries socially too. China’s culture being affected is one way that it’ll be affected socially. For example, if we sign a trade agreement with China, it will see more U.S. corporations gaining greater access to the economy and the U.S. will have a stronger influence on the Chinese culture. Chinese people, especially the younger population, will listen to more hip-hop, rock, and “American” types of music. They will be going to more fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. This can be good for America, but it might be bad for China. Another negative effect for the people of China is that the poorer and “common” people of China will have to work more in these factories and ports. Some workers in Shenzen already suffer. They make as little as 12 cents an hour while working for 12 hours a day. There will be even more injustice, unfairness, and social inequality, meaning that the gap between the “peasant farmers” and the “urban rich” will widen even more.
Economically
Economically, signing a free trade agreement with China will benefit China very much. Global trade and interdependence will bring new opportunities for jobs. There will definitely be more ports and factories being built. More and more people will move closer to these factories and ports, forming cities and industrializing and urbanizing them. However, there are also negative effects. Building these factories and ports will cost a lot of money. This money might not be earned back if there is a problem in trade. There are even more drastic negative effects. While sailing in the oceans, ships might sink. Sinking with it would be tons of money and cargo.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu