Trade talk and Texas
Proven strategy
Regarding “Texas trade” (Page A14, Thursday), President Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy is a zero-sum game in which one party wins and the other loses. This is a significant departure from previous administrations that understood the importance of creating and implementing winwin strategies in which both parties benefit.
After World War II, former Presidents Truman and Eisenhower financed the Marshall Plan and rebuilt Europe. They understood that a strong, modern European middle class was good for the United States and good for the world.
When former Presidents Bush and Clinton implemented NAFTA, they understood that strong neighbors with shared business interests and common values were good for America. As the European, Mexican and Canadian economies grew, Texas, America and the world prospered; demand for U.S. goods and services grew.
When former President Obama normalized relations with Cuba, he understood that the former Communist country of 11 million people presented opportunities for American businesses to grow and help Cuba transition from the 1950s to the 21st century. Helping Cuba would be good for America. The win-win concept is foreign to President Trump. He does not see the world in the same light as his predecessors. He only sees winners and losers.
America and its allies have prospered under the win-win strategies implemented by previous administrations. As President Trump’s trade wars with our allies begin, we can only wait and see what impact his untested and unproven strategies will have on Texas, the United States and global economies.
Bill Meyer, Kingwood