Just after the contract was signed, President Zhu of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association received a report from his secretary. A fax was sent from the United States, saying that a 15% punitive tariff would be levied on Chinese steel products. ．Fastest update
President Zhu knocked on the door of the reception room with the fax document: "Mr. Feng, as you expected, the United States has done this again."
"Is this document sent by the U.S. International Trade Commission again? The entire steel industry and all steel products are subject to these punitive tariffs. They really dare to speak."
China's steel is generally much cheaper than that of the United States, but for some of them, the prices are actually about the same as those of the United States. It's just that the production in the United States is low and the demand is high.
In Feng Yu's opinion, the United States is so poor that it wants to take a bite of meat whenever it gets an opportunity. Perhaps it is also because China has not purchased the US$50 billion in national debt it promised, so the United States had to take this step.
Another important reason is that the consortia behind the tire, steel and other industries are also supporters of Obama. Oba Niu will naturally give them some rewards to help them obtain higher profits.
Many times, some clues about what policies the United States wants to implement can be seen from the support group behind the president. For example, if Obama has the support of Microsoft, the United States will definitely stimulate the development of the software industry.
Now that Auba Niu has the support of steel tycoons behind him, Oba Niu naturally has to protect the interests of these steel tycoons. Of course, they won't say this openly, but they will find a high-sounding reason, such as there are more steel workers, and Washington is seeking benefits for American workers.
Why are many industries in the United States obviously more mechanically efficient, but their production costs are much higher than those in China? The fundamental reason is that their employment costs are too high.
Is it because the wages of workers in the United States are more than ten times higher than those in China? No, but their welfare benefits are much higher than those of China.
The most basic welfare benefits are medical care and pensions. Needless to say pensions, wages are high, so this should naturally be higher, and companies should subsidize more.
The most terrifying thing is the medical insurance in the United States. Everyone in the United States has purchased at least ten kinds of insurance. Almost every type of insurance you can imagine is available in the United States. What you can’t imagine is also available in the United States.
This is just like the gambling industry in the United States. It seems that you can buy insurance for anything. For example, a singer can buy insurance for his voice. If one day my voice breaks down and I can no longer sing, the insurance company will compensate me for the loss.
Even if you have a dog at home and you think it might destroy your home while you are at work, you can also buy insurance from an insurance company.
Of course, every insurance policy must have a risk assessment. As long as the insurance company believes that the risk is controllable, they will accept your insurance.
Insurance is a financial derivative, and these are naturally money-making tools created by large financial groups.
There are several high-income professions in the United States. When we watch the Hong Kong movie, we will also find that these two professions not only have high incomes, but are also very stable and have much less risk than working in the financial industry, that is, doctors and lawyers.
There is no need to talk about lawyers. There has always been a saying in the United States that the law protects the rich, and lawyers serve the rich.
In the United States, if you don't have insurance, then I'm sorry, but you can't afford medical treatment at all. You have a cold. The doctor checks you and then tells you to go back and drink more water. He only listens to your heartbeat, takes your temperature, and looks at the flat conductor. The consultation fee is two hundred dollars, but he doesn't prescribe any medicine.
If you have hypoglycemia and accidentally fall into a coma, and a kind-hearted passerby accidentally calls an ambulance for you, you will be in dire straits. You can’t afford it without a thousand dollars, and the ambulance alone costs seven to eight hundred dollars.
If you have a red spot on your body and accidentally meet a doctor who doesn't understand it, and then gives you a consultation without any care, then the five-digit dollar bill will make many people prefer to just use a knife to treat it. Cut out the red dot.
Many Chinese people say that medical treatment is cheaper in the United States, but they have been deceived. But all this is completely different if you have insurance.
Depending on the type of insurance, for many you don’t need to pay a penny at all. Even for average insurance, you only need to pay up to 20%.
And what kind of insurance do workers in the United States require companies to buy for them? Reimbursement of 80% will definitely not work. Is reimbursement of 100% enough
If it's not enough, they have to reimburse 120% of it, because they also need nutritional expenses, lost work expenses, etc.
Do you think this kind of insurance can be cheap? With this kind of insurance, if you have a slight headache and are noisy, you will have to be hospitalized. Anyway, the insurance company will pay the full compensation, and some of them may even make money.
Enterprise efficiency is reduced and expenditures will increase. How many enterprises can afford it
So basically, it's because the cost of living in the United States is too high, especially the cost of medical care, which is ridiculously high. Do you think many Chinese people like to buy their own medicine for colds and fevers and are reluctant to go to the hospital? This is especially true in the United States. Their home medicine kits sell very well. They contain some common cold medicines, anti-inflammatory medicines, stomach medicines, band-aids, gauze, etc., and they sell for hundreds of dollars. This is even hundreds of dollars in China. Even rmb may not be able to be sold.
The insurance alone is relatively high, and some companies can still afford it, but these workers also need other benefits. For example, for steel mill workers, high temperature subsidies must be provided, and various other possible injuries to the body must be prevented. They are collectively called health subsidies.
This kind of subsidy is often even higher than salary.
In the eyes of Americans, life should be enjoyed, and work is only for making money, but when making money, it must not affect the quality of life.
You said that you have no education or skills, but you still want to make money and don’t want to endure hardship. Is this reasonable
They just think that if the business owner cannot meet their demands, simply go on strike!
If we don't work anymore, if your factory has no one to work, the loss in one day will be not a small amount. When workers in Detroit went on strike, Tongyong Automobile, Chrysler Automobiles, and Ford Motor Company collectively lost hundreds of millions of dollars a day. Within three days, those car companies were forced to compromise.
You cannot be laid off if you go on strike, otherwise you will be sued by the union, which will think you are unfair and deliberately targeted, and you will be fined and required to pay high compensation.
It is also the existence of these unions that makes the manufacturing industry in the United States decline year by year, because these medical care, pensions and other benefits alone make business owners miserable, not to mention that these people often ask for increased benefits, and companies are If you don’t make money anymore, it’s just a waste of money.
Many companies went bankrupt because of this, but those workers didn't care at all. They believed that the country would definitely solve the problem, otherwise they would protest and make the matter bigger.
It is precisely because of these that the import value of many products in the United States is increasing day by day. If it is not imported, it will not be enough. But the import volume is high, their domestic enterprises have been greatly affected, and they do not want their domestic enterprises to go bankrupt, so they came up with this method of local protection.
Now, it's time for both sides to compete.
… (To be continued.)