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購買「中國製造」的代價
彼得·納瓦羅 2013年08月07日
這是中國侵入美國經濟的一個象徵：連接布魯克林和史坦登島
的韋拉札諾海峽大橋(Verrazano-Narrows
Bridge)。這座地標建築於1964年投入使用，是北美最長的懸索橋。它同時還是一座急需整修的橋。不幸的是，這項3400萬美元（約合2.08億元
人民幣）的鋼鐵生產與建造工程已經被外包給中國。
這是怎麼回事呢？大都會運輸署(Metropolitan
Transportation
Authority)稱，之所以選擇了中國建造商是因為兩家前來接洽的美國公司都缺乏工程所需的生產空間、特殊設備和財力。但是，鋼鐵工人聯合會
(United
Steelworkers)聲稱，它很快就找到了另外兩家可以接下這個工程的美國橋樑建造商，距離紐約市不到100英里（約合160公里）。
真正的問題在於，這次交易沒有考慮購買「中國製造」為美國帶來的全部額外代價。實際上，這個未能考慮所有代價的錯誤，與我們作為消費者每次只根據價格選購中國商品的問題一樣，雖然中國製造的商品總是更便宜。
考慮一下安全問題：這實在是個可怕的問題，因為中國在生產劣質、往往還很危險的產品上可謂臭名昭著。這樣的產品多種多樣，包括含鉛玩具、含硫石膏板、摻入三聚氰胺的寵物食品，以及被多硫酸軟骨素污染的肝素。
在橋樑這一特定領域，自2011年7月以來，中國各地已有六座橋樑坍塌。官方媒體新華社承認，豆腐渣工程和劣質建築材料都是促成因素。此外，還有一個令人警醒的故事與美國關係更大。
在2002年啟動的一個項目中，加利福尼亞州購買了中國鋼
材來維修和擴建舊金山—奧克蘭海灣大橋(San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge)。中國鋼鐵廠家造成的焊接缺陷等問題讓該項目延誤了幾個月，導致了巨額成本超支。加州本指望通過選擇「便宜」的中國鋼材，來節省成本，結果
這些延誤抹去了大部分成本優勢。
不買「中國製造」產品還有另一個理由：就業機會。一個長期存在的事實是，鋼鐵生產得到了中國政府的大量補貼，從人工操縱的偏低匯率帶來的巨大利益，到人為降低的能源、土地、貸款和水資源成本。
由於中國的補貼政策——按照國際貿易協議，其中大多數可以說是非法的——該國生產商能夠以生產成本價或者更低的價格向美國傾銷鋼鐵製品。這一問題目前尤其嚴重，因為中國的鋼鐵行業正在遭受大規模的產能過剩問題。
當然，每個通過向美國市場傾銷而產生的中國就業崗位，都意味着一個美國就業崗位的流失。而每個美國鋼鐵工人的工作機會又能夠在經濟中創造出額外的工作機會，同時產生更多的稅收收入。如今有2000多萬美國人沒法找份體面工作，我們肯定需要這些維修韋拉札諾大橋的就業機會。
大都會運輸署不僅忽視了社會代價，還忽視了在環境和人權方面更廣泛的影響。中國鋼鐵企業的噸鋼污染物和溫室氣體排放量顯著超過了美國工廠。這不僅會對全球變暖做出貢獻，還會對美國本土造成直接的負面影響，因為越來越多來自中國的污染物正通過高空急流穿越太平洋。
最後，當美國企業和政府部門棄美國鋼鐵而選擇中國產品的時
候，它們是在間接支持一個禁止組建獨立工會的威權政權，而禁止獨立工會不過是今天的中華人民共和國諸多黑色諷刺中的一例。結果，美國工人被迫與常常每天工
作12小時、每周工作六七天的中國工人競爭。兩國的鋼鐵工人最後都成為了犧牲品。
這件事歸根結底就是：購買「中國製造」，無論是修橋的鋼材，還是孩子的玩偶，都會付出巨大的代價，多數消費者進行購買的時候沒有考慮這種代價，悲哀的是，就連我們的領導人也沒有。這不僅會損害我們的國家，還會毀掉我們的經濟。
彼得·納瓦羅(Peter Navarro)是加州大學歐文分校商學院的經濟學與公共政策學教授，執導過紀錄片《致命中國》(Death by China)。翻譯：黃錚、林蒙克、經雷
Op-Ed Contributor
The Price of ‘Made in China’
August 07, 2013
HERE is a symbol of China’s assault on the American
economy: the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and
Staten Island. This landmark, which opened in 1964, is North America’s
longest suspension bridge. It’s also in urgent need of renovation.
Unfortunately, $34 million in steel production and fabrication work has
been outsourced to China.
How did this happen? The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority says a Chinese fabricator was
picked because the two American companies approached for the project
lacked the manufacturing space, special equipment and financial capacity
to do the job. But the United Steelworkers claims it quickly found two
other American bridge fabricators, within 100 miles of New York City,
that could do the job.
The real problem with this deal is that it doesn’t
take into account all of the additional costs that buying “Made in
China” brings to the American table. In fact, this failure to consider
all costs is the same problem we as consumers face every time we choose a
Chinese-made product on price alone — a price that is invariably
cheaper.
Consider the safety issue: a
scary one, indeed, because China has a very well-deserved reputation
for producing inferior and often dangerous products. Such products are
as diverse as lead-filled toys, sulfurous drywall, pet food spiked with
melamine and heparin tainted with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate.
In the specific case of
bridges, six have collapsed across China since July 2011. The official
Xinhua news agency has acknowledged that shoddy construction and
inferior building materials were contributing factors. There is also a
cautionary tale much closer to home.
When California bought
Chinese steel to renovate and expand the San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge, for a project that began in 2002, problems like faulty welds by a
Chinese steel fabricator delayed the project for months and led to huge
cost overruns. Those delays eroded much of the savings California was
banking on when it opted for the “cheap” Chinese steel.
There is a second reason
not to buy “Made in China” products: jobs. The abiding fact is that
steel production is heavily subsidized by the Chinese government. These
subsidies range from the massive benefits of a manipulated and
undervalued currency to the underwriting of the costs of energy, land,
loans and water.
Because of China’s
subsidies — most of which are arguably illegal under international trade
agreements — its producers are able to dump steel products into America
at or below the actual cost of production. This problem is particularly
acute now as China is saddled with massive overcapacity in its steel
industry.
Of course, every job China
gains by dumping steel into American markets is an American job lost.
Each steelworker’s job in America generates additional jobs in the
economy, along with increased tax revenues. With over 20 million
Americans now unable to find decent work, we could certainly use those
jobs as we repair the Verrazano Bridge.
The M.T.A. has ignored not
only the social costs but also the broader impact on the environment and
human rights. Chinese steel plants emit significantly more pollution
and greenhouse gases per ton of steel produced than plants in the United
States. This not only contributes to global warming but also has a
direct negative impact on American soil, since an increasing amount of
China’s pollution is crossing the Pacific Ocean on the jet stream.
Finally, when American
companies and government agencies opt for Chinese over American steel,
they are tacitly supporting an authoritarian regime that prohibits
independent labor unions from organizing — one of many grim ironies in
today’s People’s Republic. As a result, American workers are forced to
compete against Chinese workers who regularly work 12-hour days, six or
seven days a week, without adequate safety gear. Both Chinese and
American steelworkers wind up as victims.
The bottom line here is
this: Buying “Made in China” — whether steel for our bridges or dolls
for our children — entails large costs that most consumers and, sadly,
even our leaders don’t consider when making purchases. This is hurting
our country — and killing our economy.
Peter Navarro, a professor of economics and public policy in the business school at the University of California, Irvine, directed the documentary film “Death by China.”
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