WE ARE AT ECOMONIC WAR WITH CHINA – IT’S TIME FOR AMERICANS TO START ACTING LIKE IT

China Leads the World in Trading Counterfeit Goods

Counterfeit goods from China cost the U.S. economy between $225 billion and $600 billion annually, with significant losses attributed to counterfeit products, software piracy, and the theft of trade secrets. In particular, counterfeit goods alone account for approximately $29 billion to $41 billion in losses each year in the United States.

These losses encompass various sectors, including technology, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods. The rampant production of counterfeit products by China not only undermines the revenues of legitimate businesses in the United States and elsewhere around the world but also affects job creation and innovation in the economy.

China Counterfeits U.S. Currency

Counterfeiting of U.S. currency from China has been significant. Government estimates suggest that there are approximately $70 million in counterfeit U.S. bills in circulation, with a significant portion believed to originate from China. Counterfeit U.S. currency is widely attempted, and it is estimated that about 1 in every 10,000 genuine notes is counterfeit. These estimates are likely conservative.

China Costs American Jobs

The trade imbalance with China has led to significant job losses in the U.S. manufacturing sector and has contributed to a large trade deficit, which reached $295 billion in 2024. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the trade deficit with China expanded dramatically beginning in the early 2000s from an average of $34 billion in the 1990s. Some economists refer to this as the “China Shock” [PDF] and attribute it to the unexpectedly rapid growth in China’s exports of manufactured goods to the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s. [https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-trade-deficit-how-much-does-it-matter]

In 2024, China exported goods worth approximately $438.9 billion to the United States, while the U.S. imported about $143.5 billion from China. When President Trump says “China is killing us on trade” he isn’t exaggerated. The tariffs Trump has imposed on China are meant in part to get China to purchase more goods from the United States or else they will be selling far less because the tariffs will make Chinese goods unaffordable for U.S. consumers.

The leading Chinese consumer products sold in the United States include smartphones, computers, toys, and video game consoles, which together accounted for a significant portion of U.S. imports from China. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries are also a major import, reflecting China’s dominance in electronics and technology sectors.

Rather than thinking about America first, Democrats are exploiting, for what they hope to be political gain, the potential for significant price increases for “Made in China” goods. The party that only cares about power is once again doing everything it can to oppose whatever it is Trump is trying to accomplish regardless of how important and noble his cause. These are truly shameful Americans.

Fentanyl – China is Killing Americans

China is the primary source of precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl, with most of the finished fentanyl entering the U.S. via Mexico. In recent years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized significant amounts, with over 21,000 pounds apprehended at the borders in one fiscal year, but the total amount smuggled is believed to be much higher.

According to the  U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

Mass quantities of fentanyl, a low-cost and highly potent synthetic drug, are being produced in China and brought illegally to the United States, contributing to a growing U.S. opioid crisis. The rise of fentanyl in the United States can be traced back to China’s large chemical and pharmaceutical industries, which manufacture vast quantities of the drug and its analogues to export to the western hemisphere with little regulatory oversight. China’s illicit chemical production and inefficient U.S. and international counternarcotic efforts have contributed to dramatic increases in fentanyl-related deaths in the United States. [https://www.uscc.gov/research/fentanyl-chinas-deadly-export-united-states]

A Time when Americans Made Sacrifices for their Country

During World War II, Americans rationed gasoline, sugar, and meat to support the war. They worked in factories, joined the military, and adapted to shortages to aid the troops. The government implemented rationing to ensure that vital resources were available for the war effort, which meant that civilians had to use ration books to purchase limited quantities of essential goods. Women entered the workforce in large numbers, taking on roles traditionally held by men, such as manufacturing weapons and aircraft. Victory gardens were planted to supplement food supplies, and scrap metal drives collected materials for military production. This collective effort not only supported the soldiers abroad but also fostered a sense of unity and shared purpose among the American people.

“A sense of unity and shared purpose among the American people” is exactly what is needed when it comes to how the American people should be responding to China right now. While U.S. deaths from fentanyl poisoning are estimated to be approximately 50,000 annually, China has done little to curtail shipments of the chemicals used to make fentanyl. This fact alone should unit all Americans to do everything possible to hurt China’s economy.  Add in the hundreds of billions of dollars China has gained from the United States through counterfeiting and trade imbalances, along with the lost US manufacturing jobs due to what amounts to Chinese slave labor, and the situation is clear. China is not only a military adversary. It is an economic adversary that has been warring against the United States for decades.

It’s time for the United States to unite, if only on this one issue, and start fighting back against China economically, or we’ll be potentially fighting back against them militarily in the very near future.