My question is: what do we do about China? If we sanction them, it will only hurt our consumers and the Chinese manufacturers. Trade will move to the next lowest cost producer.

But as a populist, I don’t think today’s populists, like those of the 1920s and 30s, favor tariffs. We realize you can’t just pull up the drawbridge and be isolationists.

However, the choice between either totally unregulated, free trade or protectionism may be a false choice.

There is a third way. That is fair trade agreements.

As you point out, China does not open its markets to us. Further, an American worker can’t compete with a Chinese worker because the cost of living is so much higher here.

In fact, even in India, where workers are far freer than in China because India is an actual democracy not a dictatorship, the cost of living is so much lower that a high tech worker could make half the salary as his American counterpart and still be prosperous. But his salary, in the U.S., would mean he would be struggling.

We already have international courts, recognize intellectual property rights, and other international business law. Why couldn’t we have an international minimum wage, and international laws that protect the environment, and health and safety for employees?

Just as every state in the U.S. must observe certain national laws, why couldn’t all nations that want to trade be voluntarily bound by similar minimum standards?

Ironically, it’s the total lack of adequate regulation and oversight that has led to tainted food, dangerous toys, and even tainted medicines being imported from China to the U.S. So, we even need better protection for consumers.

Today’s populists don’t want isolationism but a more level playing field.