That implies the whole concept of developing nations is bad and we should try to prevent it. All of them have worker exploitation to some extent. Don't forget even exploited workers still choose where to work. They're not slaves. Furthermore, tariffs aren't introduced to protect foreign workers. That really isn't the reason for tariffs.
Developing nations are not a "concept". See the history of colonialism. Do not fall prey to the prisoners dilemma fallacy of "competition" between countries with dramatically different labor standards. Humans can engage in a race to the top or a race to the bottom. The choice is ours.
"The United States is upgrading Malaysia from the lowest tier on its list of worst human trafficking centers ... The upgrade follows international scrutiny and outcry over Malaysian efforts to combat human trafficking after the discovery this year of scores of graves in people-smuggling camps near its northern border with Thailand.
Malaysia has an estimated 2 million illegal migrant laborers, many of whom work in conditions of forced labor under employers and recruitment companies in sectors ranging from electronics to palm oil to domestic service."
> Don't forget even exploited workers still choose where to work.
We're not talking about long hours or low pay here - although those alone should be cause for concern, but about working conditions that cause death and permanent injury.
They're not slaves, but they don't have that much choice about where to work. And they don't have any power within their place of work.
Why do you think women "choose" to work in a clothing factory with no fire safety where they're locked in by supervisors?
Are you saying lack of information is the problem? They don't understand the risks so they're making a poor decision to work there? Since we can't educate them, the next best thing is to force their factories to be shut down and drive them back into subsistence farming?
Workers in China absolutely do have choice. Even the least skilled laborer often has the option of going back to his family's farm and doing harder work for lower pay. And that's what he would do if he's forced out of all other kinds of work.
Most workers aren't so desperate though. There isn't a serious surplus of labor in China anymore. Factory workers often earn more than university graduates.
Here's a quick test that could help decide the matter. If you met such a worker personally and got to know him. Then you had the power to choose to fire him and prevent him ever finding similarly hazardous work again in his life, or leave him alone. Which would you choose?
Beware that believing you know the best way to direct somebody else's life is a risky area to step into.
Actually, this whole working conditions argument is a complete red herring. The people who promote it are really the people who are nationalistic protectionists and need an excuse to justify tariffs. But this isn't the reason the government imposes tariffs. There isn't a "foreign workers health and safety" lobby pressuring the government to apply taxes to imported products.
But wait, there's more. Health risks are relative. We all accept them to some extent. Is there an absolute level of acceptable danger? Is it OK for a US construction worker to sometimes die but not OK for a Chinese factory work to die slightly more often? Who's to say another culture won't deem our western safety standards to be inhumane and try to prevent us driving all those cars and building all those buildings because of all he fatalities they cause?
