I\u2019ve lost track of the number of times a likeminded free-marketer has chastised me for failing to oppose President Trump\u2019s approach to trade and tariffs. The exchange usually goes something like this:<\/p>\n
Other person<\/span><\/em>: Trump says we should \u201cput workers first\u201d and raise tariffs to reduce the trade deficit. How can you possibly support that as economic policy? <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Me<\/span><\/em>: I don\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Other person<\/span><\/em>: Then why do you support his tariffs? Remember Smoot-Hawley? Don\u2019t you know they will start a trade war and nobody will win? <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Me<\/span><\/em>: So, what should we do about unfair trade practices like higher tariffs from our trading partners, China\u2019s requirement that many US firms partner with Chinese companies in order to compete there, or China\u2019s inability to enforce intellectual property rights?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Other person<\/span><\/em>: We should resolve these issues at the negotiating table.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Me<\/span><\/em>: We have been trying to do so for years, but it\u2019s not working.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Other person<\/span><\/em>: Perhaps, but we should still negotiate. We shouldn\u2019t start a trade war over it. <\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been searching for a simple way to explain my position in conversations such as these. I think it can be summed up by policy vs. strategy<\/em>. Free trade is the best friend of workers, consumers, businesses, and even politicians. I do not<\/span> support tariffs as economic policy, but that doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t support them as political strategy.<\/p>\n It should be obvious that \u201cfree trade\u201d isn\u2019t currently a two-way street. Many of our trading partners employ restrictive trade policies that they would find unacceptable from the US. China is the most obvious example. US action can evoke retaliation and ramp up a trade war, but the battle has already started.<\/p>\n Some business leaders and economists correctly note that the current arrangement is still a net benefit to the US and should be allowed to fix itself slowly over time. Others agree that \u201csomething should be done\u201d but seem afraid to take any action. The first group is engaged in wishful thinking, while the second group does not appreciate the difference between policy and strategy.<\/p>\n Most of our trading partners benefit from the current system and will not change course unless they are forced to do so. The existing rules have been accepted for years, so why change now? The only<\/em> way to make real<\/em> progress at the negotiating table is to impose tariffs and other restrictions as bargaining chips on the US side. It will require some short-term pain, but it\u2019s the only option that works. What are the alternatives?<\/p>\n The US is in a strong economic bargaining position now relative to countries like China, so I believe the odds of getting an acceptable deal soon are good. If not now, when?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve lost track of the number of times a likeminded free-marketer has chastised me for failing to oppose President Trump\u2019s approach to trade and tariffs. The exchange usually goes something like this: Other person: Trump says we should \u201cput workers first\u201d and raise tariffs to reduce the trade deficit. How can you possibly support that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}