A reader sent us a comment regarding the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the email we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Don’t Ignore the Issue of Intellectual Property
Having lived in Silicon Valley for thirty (30) years and in Asia for five (5) years for business purposes. The general feeling in both areas of this tariff confrontation is the issue of Intellectual Property, not consumer products or other services. The Asians, particularly China, are extremely fearful of us developing methods and processes that can really eliminate their ability to continue and steal our creative-leading edge systems and processes. My time in Asia working with numerous Asian companies was that their executives continuously told me that they the Asian people were outstanding at copying and modifying an end product. But that the process of “creating” was an American capability and quality they did not have. They blamed it on cultural differences. So, today they resort to attacking our companies and their databases to acquire our creative systems and processes.
However, as you are aware the deficit in measurable dollars with these countries is a measurable factor. Further, the purpose of these tariffs is not to just balance our measurable deficits with these countries, but to stop the theft of a much, much larger cost to the USA, which is our Intellectual Property! What impresses me is that even the Democrats are realizing what this tariff situation is aiming to accomplish.
So, in the future please make sure that you include the Intellectual Property issue as a factor when explaining the tariff situation, which is a fairer portrayal of the real “why” behind the tariffs that the American people can better understand! So far, all the reporting has been about commodities or products and services and how this is hurting everyday Americans. Thank you.
Mike Young
Sacramento, California