It is surprising to see the strong protectionism sentiment propagated by the two presidential candidates in the United States, a country that has long touted itself as the champion of free trade. Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump may disagree sharply on many issues, but their protectionist and anti-trade rhetoric is quite similar.

Almost from the beginning of his electoral campaign, Trump has pledged to impose a 45-percent punitive tariff on Chinese imports, which is not only irrational, but also impossible given the possible Chinese retaliation, the strong opposition from the powerful US business community and the violation of World Trade Organization rules.

Clinton, meanwhile, has repeatedly accused Trump of outsourcing his products from 12 countries, as if everything Americans use must be made in the US. If outsourcing products globally is a crime, then Clinton is making a charge against tens of thousands of US companies. All the Fortune 500 companies, many of which have provided donations for the Clinton campaign, should be brought to justice because they are all producing goods and services in other countries including China.