We may be entering an era of creeping de-globalization. It is one thing to be generous with the perceived foibles of your trading partners when your economy is growing and jobs are plentiful. It is quite another to decide to be tolerant when your economy is struggling, and domestic political pressure to create jobs and raise wages is increasing.
Which is the case both in China and the United States. America is in the midst of a drawn-out election campaign, with candidates vying for the China-basher-of-the-year award. Eager to shift blame for high unemployment and to appease an electorate that believes the country to be headed in the wrong direction, President Barack Obama is letting it be known, most especially to his trade union allies, that he is going to get tough on China for its currency manipulation, export control on rare minerals, buy-China policy, and theft of intellectual property. To which Republican candidates respond with even tougher statements.
