Three more free-trade deals

I can't believe it. What kind of geniuses have we elected? If they would go down the list of free traders, they would find every one of them has a huge trade deficit totaling $668 billion. China, the worst, with a deficit of $272 billion, shipped in 12 million computers that should have been manufactured in the U.S. Now that they added South Korea, Panama and Columbia we can expect huge imports of cars and many other products, now being manufactured in the U.S., resulting in plant closings and more unemployed.

The main thing they want from us is our agricultural products, which has increased and will increase our food prices and cost of living. The Florida grapefruit growers who supported the agreements said they could export millions of grapefruit to Korea. Look for $5 grapefruit.

Although Republicans continue to find fault with Obama's trade policies, trade liberalization actually started with Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush. Three-fourths of the House Democrats voted against the trade agreements.

I understand the administration has a Pacific Rim Trade Pact pending. I certainly hope they can halt the huge surge of manufactured goods into the United States. It would be improper to place sanctions or an embargo on certain countries, but it would be effective to place an added value tax on certain products such as computers, electronics and autos, which could and should be manufactured in the United States.

JACK H. KNOWLAN SR., Jackson