Biden trumpeting ‘Made in America’
PARK HYUN-YOUNGThe author is the Washington correspondent of the JoongAng Ilbo.
Lately, a manufacturing boom is spreading in the United States. Large-scale investment announcements and factory groundbreaking ceremonies are often held. On October 19, Germany’s BMW Group announced a $1.7 billion investment in electric vehicles (EV), internal combustion vehicles and battery factories in South Carolina. It is the largest investment in the history of the state. On October 25, Hyundai Motor will start construction of an EV plant in Georgia. Last month, Intel held a groundbreaking ceremony for a semiconductor plant in Ohio, a $20 billion project.
Investments are made steadily under the banner of “Made in America” advocated by U.S. President Joe Biden. Most major projects involve high-tech industries such as automobiles and chips. A head of state who creates jobs is the best for the people regardless of their party affiliation. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the closest politicians to former President Donald Trump, was excited at the BMW event. “Batteries have become the new oil,” he said. “South Carolina’s going to become the Detroit of batteries.”
Biden has advocated “diplomacy for the middle class” since his presidential campaign. As diplomacy deals with relations with foreign countries, I wondered how he would implement diplomacy for Americans. Two years into his term, the policy is materializing. Basically, Biden wants to pursue national security and workers’ interests at the same time. To continue to demonstrate America’s power to the world, he believes the middle class has to be solid. At the root of the crisis with American democracy — as exemplified by Trump and his supporters’ refusal to accept his election defeat — is a lack of jobs from “offshoring,” Biden thinks.
But I am skeptical of the long-term effects of his initiative if what the U.S. wants to achieve is winning the competition with China and maintaining its hegemony. That’s because interests of the U.S. inevitably clash with interests of its allies. A notable case is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that only offers tax benefits to EVs assembled in North America. Excluding EVs made in Korea, Japan and Europe was not a haphazard mistake but an attempt to encourage production in the U.S.
As a presidential candidate, Biden promised steel workers that he would not join any new trade agreements without a promise for large-scale investment in America. In fact, the U.S. has not yet returned to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the meantime, China has applied for membership. America can win in the competition against China only when it has the courage to persuade voters that avoiding multilateralism will only weaken America’s standing while free trade is ultimately diplomacy for the middle class in the U.S.
But I am skeptical of the long-term effects of his initiative if what the U.S. wants to achieve is winning the competition with China and maintaining its hegemony. That’s because interests of the U.S. inevitably clash with interests of its allies. A notable case is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that only offers tax benefits to EVs assembled in North America. Excluding EVs made in Korea, Japan and Europe was not a haphazard mistake but an attempt to encourage production in the U.S.
As a presidential candidate, Biden promised steel workers that he would not join any new trade agreements without a promise for large-scale investment in America. In fact, the U.S. has not yet returned to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the meantime, China has applied for membership. America can win in the competition against China only when it has the courage to persuade voters that avoiding multilateralism will only weaken America’s standing while free trade is ultimately diplomacy for the middle class in the U.S.
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