But just as it is reasonable that Japan might wish to retain a dominant position in domestic rice farming to avoid or minimize food shortages, we and others need/ needed to take or retake a more aggressive position from a national security (and medical/ health security) view to onshore, re-shore, or near shore selected elements of our commerce and economy. Plus we of course also need to counter and punish the CCP type cheating occurring (it seems) at every turn.

But when it comes to industrial policy in general, and the role of the government as “employer of last resort”, to what extent is it a proper government role to assist (or ensure?) that our domestic labor market is valued and supported? If we have the highest level of individual liberty in the world, and have demonstrated very high levels of innovation for 200 years coupled to that level of liberty, we should also be emphasizing that aspect of our economy since our human capital is our greatest asset. [As is also the case for Israel, Japan, and other relatively high performing nations when they let their people realize the benefits of their respective efforts.]

It is also to our national interest and advantage to have South American and other allies growing in prosperity (and potentially allegiance to us). At 5% of the global population, we cannot expect to remain the “largest economy” forever, if other’s boats rise along with ours. Nigeria, Mexico, Russia, India, Bangladesh, et al. have sizeable populations that could come to rival us in net $ terms if/when they ever get their act together. Just need to keep all of this in perspective.

On the other hand, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, and Mitsubishi all operate plants in the United States. What make and model you buy might have come from Japan–my Toyota did–but might have been built in the US.

I personally am certain that tariffs and other trade barriers considered purely from an economic perspective do more harm than good, but it’s not like we haven’t always had them for one excuse or another, and whatever we as a people decide about tariffs needs to be based on factual information about where stuff is actually manufactured and not what country we associate the brand with.

Incidentally Japan is notorious for trade barriers that are not tariffs, for example these from trade.gov:

Standards unique to Japan (formal, informal, de facto, or otherwise);

A requirement in some sectors or projects for companies to demonstrate prior experience in Japan, effectively shutting out new entrants in the market;

Official regulations that favor domestically produced products and discriminate against foreign products;

Licensing powers in the hands of industry associations with limited membership, strong market influence, and the ability to control information and operate without oversight;

Cross stock holding and interconnection of business interests among Japanese companies that disadvantage suppliers outside the traditional business group;

Cartels (both formal and informal);

and

The cultural importance of personal relationships in Japan and the reluctance to break or modify business relationships.