Eight Things Republicans Get Wrong About Free Trade
With its move toward protectionism, the party is turning its back on a global system that benefits the US more than any other country.
Free trade in action.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP
With Donald Trump and JD Vance at the top of the Republican ticket, the party seems to be returning to its protectionist roots. Some members of the conservative intelligencia are cheering it on. With this background in mind, allow me to recapitulate some of the arguments for free trade, or at least something close to free trade. Think of this as a kind of cheat sheet for the current debate.
It is true that 19th century tariffs often were high, but they were not the main reason the US became rich (they were an important means of funding the government, given the absence of an income tax). The best economic research shows that what drove US economic growth was population expansion and capital accumulation. Tariffs raised the price of imported capital goods and thus partially discouraged growth, while the US expansion was actually most rapid in non-tradeable goods.