Trump Plays Reagan's Game on Tariffs and Taxes
You can't turn back the clock.
Photographer: Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump’s attacks on trade agreements are generally depicted as a departure from mainstream Republican orthodoxy over many decades. The party's leadership in Congress still embraces free trade. Most GOP members have favored nearly all the recent trade accords, going back to the North American Free Trade Agreement of the early 1990s -- a deal negotiated by President George H.W. Bush.
But the idea that Republicans in the modern era have always practiced free trade is a myth. As president, Ronald Reagan claimed to be a free trader. But he also denounced imports as harmful to U.S. industry. While his messaging was often contradictory, Reagan's actions proved him to be an assertive protectionist for most of his term.