While many critics, including some economists, believe that the decline in manufacturing in the US has been caused by trade and "off-shoring" of jobs, the two argued that the decline reflects a shift in domestic demand away from spending on goods and faster productivity growth in manufacturing, where fewer workers are needed to maintain the same output.

That also seems to apply to the service representatives I had tried to contact.

According to the two scholars and co-authors of Rising Tide: Is Growth in Emerging Economies Good for the United States?, increased trade can cause "short-term pain in the form of job losses, lower profits, and the dislocation of people and communities", but trade and investment strategies that encourage growth in emerging economies will continue to benefit both the US and its trade and investment partners in the foreseeable future.

They argued that even if the US had had a balanced trade over the past decade, the share of manufacturing employment in the job market would have fallen considerably. The conclusion is that the US will not be better served by erecting new barriers at home or viewing foreign growth as damaging to its economic interests.

Over the years, people have been puzzled by the growing negative feeling about trade among Americans. Why are they not happy when Chinese, Indians and people from other emerging economies help them save money with cheaper manufactured goods?

Now we know, according to the economists, that the Americans have just picked the wrong guys to blame.

The author, based in Washington DC, is deputy editor of China Daily USA. Email: chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com.