American coatings manufacturers are slow to accept the reality that free trade is now cemented into our foreign relations program and hence is a permanent threat to the existence of this industry. In 2004, Americans imported about $44.3 million worth of coatings from China, a substantial increase over 2000, when coatings from China totaled $9.2 million. That level of import growth severely strains many companies in the industry.
Our national tradition of protecting industries behind tariff walls is being eroded at an ever-faster rate since World War II, when America accepted the economic and political consequences of being the World's only economic superpower. Coatings producers face the even greater threat of foreign competition from Mainland China. They must adopt more stringent policies to ensure more efficient operations.