https://www.wired.com/story/china-conquers-mexican-automotive-market-and-the-us-is-worried/
State department hand wringing that China is going to use the US trade agreements as they were designed is
I fully expect them to redo these with “except china” clauses.
If this reaches some arbitrary threshold of manufacturing above that which US capital is comfortable with they will begin restricting and rewriting what “free trade” means
Altering NAFTA and telling Mexico to “pray we don’t alter it further”? Wouldn’t put it past them.
All the free trade propaganda stems from a time when imperialist powers depended on it to steamroll native industries in the periphery. Of course, it was associated with all the liberty freedom democracy propaganda, so once it no longer became preferable and even enabled the possibility of the reverse happening, they have to materially oppose it, but still wax poetic about it to please their bootlickers and sycophants.
Free trade with countries that have a green freedom index on