Why would an American company (Walmart) fight American companies & jobs?

[Clark2008]

Tom Hopson is the president and CEO of Five Rivers Electronics Innovations, which assembles televisions for companies like Philips, Samsung and RCA, and whose factory is located in Greenville, Tenn. In this interview, he describes how television-manufacturing jobs have moved offshore over the last few decades and explains how China's entry into the television market caused drastic changes. Hopson says the number of imported Chinese televisions on the U.S. market increased 1,100 percent between 2000 and 2003. He filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission charging the Chinese with dumping televisions in the U.S. market for prices below free-market value and won his case in May 2004. Hopson tells FRONTLINE, "There's no doubt in my mind that if had lost this case, this factory would not be in business." He says he was surprised to learn that Wal-Mart had filed briefs in support of the Chinese television manufacturers, who were vigorously contesting Hopson's suit. "Why would an American company fight American companies and American jobs unless it was for their own profit?" he asks. "I don't understand that."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/interviews/hopson.html

From PBS's Frontline.

[YOY]

1. I watched that...very good.

My favorite was the ass-clown who was spitting the line about other jobs being created in the service sector:

You know, I have both studied Economics and lived in the real world. I have no idea what ivy league prep-school gas guzzling SUV this clowns stepped out of. What service jobs being created? Retail jobs that pay at best 10$ an hour and usually around 7$??? This guy needed his head whacked a few times until reality sunk in.

[ellenfl]

2. the guy was from the cato institute. whadya want! eom

[YOY]

6. I was cooking dinner at the time

and couldn't see who he was but heard the idiocy...that cleared it up...

[undeterred]

3. I watched it too- a real eye-opener

They can put companies out of business (like Rubbermaid) by refusing to negotiate. I don't think I can ever shop there again.

[Democrats_win]

4. While Americans lose jobs, M$M tries to figure out if WM had a good year.

Darn those gift cards for keeping us in the dark about how brother Wal-Mart is doing in their relentless sale of CRAP!

[Clark2008]

9. And it is crap.

You really don't save any money because you have to purchase the same item two or three times to get it to last as long as one product of better quality.

I got some jeans as hand-me-downs for my son. The brand I know came from Wal-mart lasted about four washings. The Levi's (which used to be made in the states, but heaven knows where now - but probably still here, somewhere) are still fine.

[ellenfl]

5. good show. was it a re-run? i was going to mention

it last night but thought i might be redundant (not me, my post). i need to buy my next tv from a retailer that sells tvs made by that five rivers guy. buy 'merkin!

they really showed wm's colors with the bit about wm buying american then going all chinese.

ellen fl

[sinkingfeeling]

7. To answer your question, Wal-Mart wants Chinese TVs at the

cheapest possible cost to sell to the American public (you'll need to purchase a new one every year because of quality issues) so they can scoop more money into the Walton's (soon-to-be tax free) trust funds and into the arms of their shareholders.

[JohnyCanuck]

8. But remember when they showed Bill Clinton

saying how the trade agreement he was going to sign with China would be good for both countries because American manufacturers and farmers would be able to sell to the enormous Chinese market while China sold to the US. (Those weren't the exact words but that was the gist of it. I remember he did specifically give Dell Computers as being a US manufacturer who would be able to take advantage of the deal with China). At the time I laughed to myself, and I said to myself, "Yeah right, Bill. How many US manufacturers are there left who can sell stuff to China which they can't make cheaper in China already."

Then the host interviewed someone at one of the main US ports where the Chinese goods were being unloaded and asked her what was being unloaded off the ships from China. She replied it was all manufactured stuff like plastic products, toys, electronics, machinery etc. He then asked the lady what goods were being loaded onto the boats to go back to China. Can't remember the products specifically but I do recollect it was almost 100% all raw material stuff to be manufactured into products in China (waste paper for recycling into cardboard boxes is the only one of the items she listed that I can remember off the top of my head). But it was all RAW MATERIAL. Zippo for manufactured goods.

Remember how it worked in the old days of colonialism. The colonies had all sorts of restrictions against building up their own industrial base because the role of the colony was only to supply the raw materials for the manufacturing plants back in the mother countries which maintained economic control over the colonies (also of course the colonies did act as an outpost for the mother country to protect its sea lanes and its economic or strategic interests). Can't see how allowing its manufacturing base to be stripped to the bone is in the long term advantage of the US any way you want to dice it.