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Chapter 876 Nanyang never does business at a loss (fourth update, please subscribe)

In a clothing factory in New Jersey, the hustle and bustle of the past is gone, and there is a dead silence. The sewing machines that were originally clicking have stopped their busy rhythm, leaving only the faint sound of dust floating in the air. The female workers stand beside their sewing machines, holding unfinished clothes in their hands, looking at the foreman in front of them with blank eyes.

The foreman had a gloomy face, and his voice was filled with helplessness and fatigue:
"As everyone knows, our factory has stopped production. Because of the impact of those cheap Asian goods, they took away all our orders, and the factory had to stop production..."

The foreman looked at the female workers in front of him. Over the years, they had already gotten to know each other. Many of them were neighbors and friends.

Looking at his friends, the foreman's tone was full of bitterness.

"So we're all unemployed."

His words were like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up waves in the hearts of the female workers.

"How could this be?"

Someone muttered in a low voice, his tone full of reluctance and confusion.

"It's those one-dollar blouses from Asia that are taking away all our market share."

Another female worker said indignantly, her brows furrowed as if she could hold back the invisible competitive pressure.

"A dollar shirt? How can that be?"

"Because they are too cheap. Now we have such cheap shirts. And the patterns and colors are so rich. Who would be willing to buy our shirts that cost only a few dollars?"

The female workers began to gather together to discuss this sudden change. Their words were full of dissatisfaction and helplessness towards the cheap textiles from Asia, as if those one-dollar shirts were the culprits that took away their livelihoods.

Not as if!

But the fact is that it is those "one dollar shirts" from Asia, which are cheaper than they imagined, that have taken away their market and their jobs.

When they mentioned the "one dollar shirt", there was no longer the joyful look in their tone.

All that was left was sadness and even more anger, because they lost their jobs.

However, in this heated discussion, no one mentioned an embarrassing fact - the women workers who were discussing indignation were wearing those cheap one-dollar shirts. Those shirts and dresses were once the focus of women's discussion. They were so cheap, so cheap that you could buy a shirt with the price of a piece of bread.

At that time they were cheering for the cheap dresses, but now their existence is undoubtedly a mockery of their own words.

This scene is not only quietly playing out in this garment factory in New Jersey, but also in countless other garment factories.

The women workers' emotions swung between anger, frustration and embarrassment as they wore the cheap clothes that had put them out of work.

Those factories that were once full of vitality and vigor now look like silent ruins, waiting for an unknown future.

"…entire factory districts are falling into ruins, and if we don't intervene in time, we will see the American textile industry, the American clothing industry, completely disappear from the world."

"Unemployed women workers will have to rely on their husbands for their livelihoods, and poverty will once again cover the land of America."

The closure of one garment factory after another and the unemployment of tens of thousands of textile and garment factory workers have brought unprecedented shock to American society.

After all, this is the first time, the first time that American companies have collapsed on such a large scale and in a systematic manner under the impact of foreign products. The reality of tens of thousands of people losing their jobs has brought an unprecedented impact on American society.

For a time, the same topic was being discussed in newspapers, on television, and on the radio.

"One Dollar Shirt"

Not only that, politicians in Washington are also discussing the "one dollar shirt". After all, they have to do something, at least to prove to the outside world that they are not eating for free here.

Especially when some unemployed female workers write to them, angrily blaming the impact of cheap Asian clothing for causing them and their friends to lose their jobs, those congressmen always need to give a positive response.

“This is the ‘one dollar shirt’. Under their impact, hundreds of thousands of American garment workers have lost their jobs, and thousands of factories have closed down or are on the verge of closing down. Here I want to ask... when you formulated the low tariff policy, did you think about how to protect American industries?”

In Congress, members of Congress were indignant about those who wanted to lower tariffs on clothing, and they were arguing and debating.

Overnight, no topic in Washington was as hot as the "Asian cheap clothing shock." Whether they were Democrats or Republicans, they were all discussing this topic...how to deal with this cheap shock.

Whatever their stance, the topic has become the hottest one in Washington, even in the White House.

In the Oval Office, Eisenhower was also discussing this topic with Dulles. "Now many state senators are arguing about how to stop the impact of cheap Asian clothing, and some blame the White House for its inaction."

"They're going to put the blame on the White House no matter what happens, Mr. President, and they're just trying to pass the buck."

Dulles knew his colleagues well, and shirking responsibility was what they were best at.

"But now the whole country is paying attention to this issue. It has indeed caused a lot of people to lose their jobs. If we don't solve this problem, we will definitely lose the next election, and it will also become a reason for them to attack me."

As he spoke, Eisenhower frowned. This question was becoming a weapon for others to attack him, and those people would even use it as a reason to question his ability.

"So now Mr. President we need to go and fix this problem."

Dulles looked at the President and said.

"We need to conduct a comprehensive investigation into cheap clothing and address the root causes."

"Investigate? Investigate what? Aren't those clothes all made in Southeast Asia?"

Eisenhower said with some dissatisfaction.

"Have you not noticed? Now our market is full of Nanyang goods. Clothes, basically all clothes are from Nanyang. From cheap to high-end, it's all like this."

Facing some of the president's angry words, Dulles said.

"From the newspapers, it seems that a considerable portion of those cheap clothes come from Southeast Asia, but their actual production place is not in Southeast Asia. After all, the production cost in Southeast Asia is there!"

This is exactly what makes them feel the most strange. Although the production cost in Nanyang is much lower than that in the United States, it is definitely not so low as to be unbelievable.

It is impossible for them to export at a loss. After all, no country would export goods at a loss to supply other countries.

Well, except for the Eastern European countries. They will indeed export at a loss for the sake of the market, because of their special economic system, they can artificially lower the domestic price of a certain commodity, purchase it at a cost lower than the international market price, and then export it to the international market.

For those countries, currency is just a numbers game.

But Nanyang is different, they are a country that follows market rules. They will never do business at a loss!

"If it's not in Southeast Asia, then where are they produced?"

Eisenhower asked with some confusion.

“It should be abroad.”

Dulles said.

"Overseas? You mean in those countries where production costs are very low, right? But how do their products enter the United States through Southeast Asia?"

Eisenhower asked, looking at Dulles.

“That’s what we need to figure out, Mr. President.”

Dulles looked at the President and said.

"So before we have direct negotiations with Nanyang, we have to figure out all this. We need to figure out where those clothes are made, how they get to Nanyang, and how they get to the United States."

Dulles said.

"This is very important, Mr. President, if we don't have solid evidence, it's going to be very difficult to resolve this issue in negotiations."

"Then do it."

Eisenhower said.

"We have to solve this problem before things get worse. We have to let everyone see that we are doing our best to solve this problem, so that others will not use this matter to attack us."

(End of this chapter)