Examining Reagan’s Record on Free Trade
by Sheldon Richman, June 21, 2004
The following article originally appeared in the May 10, 1982, issue of The Wall Street Journal. Copyright Dow Jones and Company, Inc.
Hardly anyone was surprised when the Reagan administration imposed quotas on sugar imports last week. This is at once remarkable and understandable. It’s remarkable because Mr. Reagan wants to be known as a free-trader. Indeed, he lists as heroes some of history’s foremost free-traders: Frederic Bastiat, Richard Cobden, Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek, all of whom would find import quotas odious.
And yet the blasé response is understandable because the imposition of quotas is consistent with the Reagan record and the neo-mercantilism of his predecessors (he had already raised the basic tariff on sugar imports and imposed a new import fee). Historians certainly weren’t surprised; the Republicans are the traditional party of high tariffs.
That way you can pretend to be part of a discussion without having to actually understand the issue.
Trade protectionism is for the weak of spirit and mind. If our producers can't compete fairly, our government has no business subsidizing their inefficiency with our consumer's money. We've got the most productive workforce on the planet, that is reason enough to remove as many barriers to free trade as we can.