Cal Thomas: That was then, this is now

“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them ...

well, I have others.”– Groucho MarxGuess who said this: “China takes total advantage of the United States. They steal our intellectual property using cyber theft.



Not only do they steal our intellectual property, they keep our good companies out, and say the only way you’re going to be able to sell your American products in China ...

is if you come to China, make them there, and give us the techniques and intellectual property.”Elon Musk? Nope. President Trump? Wrong again.

That was then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a 2018 radio interview. On another occasion that same year, Schumer said: “I’m closer to him (Trump) on trade than I was to either Obama, a Democrat, or Bush, a Republican, because we’ve got to get tougher on China. .

.. But the president and his team have to stick with it, be strong, and not sell out for a temporary purchase of goods without addressing the real issue: the theft of American intellectual property which will cost us millions of American jobs in the long run.

”How about this one: “In terms of tariffs, it’s interesting to note that the average MFN (most favored nation) tariff for Chinese goods coming into the United States is two percent, whereas the average MFN tariff on U.S. goods going to China is 35 percent.

Is that reciprocal?”Same list of choices? Wrong again. That was Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in 1996.

One more: “It’s also proper for advanced economies like the United States to insist on reciprocity from nations like China.”That was President Barack Obama speaking in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2018.What changed and caused many Democrats who previously favored tariffs to now excoriate Trump over the tariff policies they once supported? Why, politics, of course.

Politicians can change positions faster than they can change lanes.One hopes, especially for the sake of senior retirement funds which have dropped like a rock, that tariffed countries will negotiate lowering or eliminating theirs on the U.S.

An initial good sign came Monday from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: “We have offered zero-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners. Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table.

”Meanwhile, there is something else Trump should do.The president should address the nation from the Oval Office in prime time. He might remind Americans of Franklin Roosevelt’s famous line in his first inaugural address near the beginning of the Great Depression: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

” This is nowhere close to a depression, he should say, but an attempt to fundamentally re-set the world economy which is not working in America’s interests.Don’t ad-lib or repeat yourself as you do when you go off-script in your speeches. Be serious.

Be confident. Don’t make it about yourself, but about all Americans. Note that the U.

S. no longer produces drugs in this country, but has outsourced them all, mostly to China, and that puts American lives and American interests at risk should those nations decide to no longer ship drugs to us. Quote Democrats who were for tariffs before they were against them.

Convince the public it will be better for everyone if we endure this relatively brief rough patch. Transitions can’t be easy, but the outcome can produce good results if we stick together and do not falter.If Trump’s tariffs are a short-term tactic to achieve reciprocity with other nations, and they work (long term they have been shown to have negative consequences) – his critics will again be proved wrong.

If he fails, Democrats will likely win the next two elections and nothing will have been solved.Speechwriters, get to work.Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.

com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks)..