The Government should not allow imports from countries with weaker environmental regulations than the United States. Environmental regulations put a strain on American businesses, as well as any other country that has environmental regulations. Those regulations are put into place to protect the environment in which we live. American businesses do not really have a choice not to abide by those regulations without being heavily fined. According to Walter E. Williams’ article, “Goodies Cost”, $451 billion in regulatory costs was paid by small firms in 2000. If American businesses have to take the burden of paying these regulatory fees, then why should our government opt for foreign importers who offer cheaper products, and do not follow the same regulations American businesses follow?

From an economist’s point of view, it would make sense to import from a country who manufacturers cheaper goods, even though they might have weaker environmental regulations than we do. This benefits the consumer due to lower price of the goods. But those imports hurt American producers of the same goods. If the government believes the environment is truly important to them, then they should not encourage poor environmental stewardship of other countries while it discourages this here in America. The government should only import from countries that have a lower World Price than our Domestic Price if they meet our environmental regulations. If the government is more concerned about money, then they should disband our environmental regulations, making our Domestic Price lower, or more competitive with the World Price, benefitting both consumers and producers.

One must also take into account the fact third world countries do not have the technology to produce goods in an environmentally friendly fashion. Third world countries also have hundreds of thousands of people who work for almost anything and live in squalor. If our government were to cut off ties with these countries then we would be making the lives for all of the people who make a living in that country worse, decreasing their standard of living.

This issue is important to me because during these very difficult economic times American companies are going to have to start making some tough decisions. American consumers are going to have less purchasing power, and in response American companies will have to lower prices. The only real way to do this is find cheaper labor. That cheaper labor will come from those third world countries that do not uphold our environmental regulations. This is why I believe it unspeakably important to elect a president who will discover how to solve this very important issue that will affect everyone in the world. The American people need a President who will place the country first and not eliminate the American worker for cheaper prices. America needs a President who has the experience to analyze the situation, make a plan, and execute it. America needs John McCain.