, Columnist
How Trump’s Protectionism Could Increase Free Trade
A world trading system that was seen as fair five years ago shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as fair today.
Tangible free trade.
Photographer: Henry Nicholls/AFP
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Free trade is in trouble. That’s hardly startling news when the US has an avowed protectionist in the White House, but the problem runs deeper than it may at first appear.
Start with the distinction between trade in goods and trade in services. When a US manufacturer sells tractors overseas, that’s goods. When a US software firm creates an AI medical diagnostic tool and sells access via the internet to foreigners, that’s services.