mr president whether or not it should be permissible to sell goods which prisoners have been compelled to make must depend on whether the prisoners have committed real offences as distinct from political ones of course in china we know exactly what the offences are on whether the judicial system is fair and certainly on whether prisoners are being kept in humane conditions which they are certainly not in the laogai
however whether or not other people should be permitted to buy them must depend on whether or not the importing country wishes to close down its own factories and put its own workers out of employment
that should apply not only to goods made by prisoners but to goods from any low-wage economy with which our workers cannot expect to compete
advocates of free trade in the classical economics books always say that free trade makes the world as a whole much richer
however that does not mean that each country becomes richer
it certainly does not mean that british and other european workers who are thrown out of work will become richer
their interests must come first
