The multinationals, who spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying for PNTR, gloated in their victory. The morning after the vote, the pro-PNTR newspapers and the spokesmen for the multinationals couldn't resist admitting what the game plan really was.
Investment is the very opposite of exports.
Investment means U.S. multinationals build plants in China, hire cheap labor and then import the products back into the United States to undersell goods manufactured in America. Exports, on the other hand, mean that U.S. companies and farmers produce products to sell abroad. The multinationals played a crafty game when they lobbied Congress this spring. They played down its likely impact on investment. They've been able to avoid telling that story.