Letter to the editor: Stop importing from China

The recent outbreak of covid-19 from the coronavirus originating in China should force us to reexamine the wisdom of importing so many of our products from China. I believe it is high time to consider ways of manufacturing more of our products in the U.S.

Many products shipped from China are vital to our national security, health and welfare. This provides China with leverage to blackmail the U.S. over foreign policy interests. Also, as products are shipped from China, U.S. dollars are transferred to the Chinese economy, creating a trade deficit. It also gives the Chinese tremendous financial leverage to influence Congress through Chinese lobbyists.

Thus, in the long run, the Chinese hope to overpower the U.S. both militarily and economically. On a level playing field, a communist economy cannot compete with a capitalist economy. We are tilting the playing field by subsidizing a tyrannical regime by purchasing American products made in China. Additionally, China uses its wealth to subsidize our national debt, further compromising our national integrity.

Dr. Joel I. Last

Greensburg