Replies

>>Free trade with enemies was not a centerpiece of Reagan’s policies. China is an enemy. The notion that they would improve their behavior with ‘free trade’ was ridiculous. We’ve enriched a nation of communists who are perhaps the most irresponsible nation on the world stage.<<

You make good points about President Reagan - he had the best interest of the country first and didn’t trade mindlessly with enemies.

But as long as have been aware there have been lower cost countries and we have to either produce things they want at prices they’ll pay or we have deficit or a trade war.

But yes, Reagan did strongly favor free trade.

>> President Reagan delivered the, following remarks in his radio address to the nation on Nov. 26.

My fellow Americans, this week, as we prepared for Thanksgiving, Canada held an important election, and I’m pleased to again send my congratulations to Prime Minister Mulroney. One of the important issues in the Canadian election was trade. And like our own citizens earlier this month, our neighbors have sent a strong message, rejecting protectionism and reaffirming that more trade, not less, is the wave of the future.
Here in America, as we reflect on the many things we have to be grateful for, we should take a moment to recognize that one of the key factors behind our nation’s great prosperity is the open trade policy that allows the American people to freely exchange goods and services with free people around the world.

The freedom to trade is not a new issue for America. In 1776, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, charging the British with a number of offenses, among them, and I quote, “cutting off our trade with all parts of the world,” end quote. And that same year, a Scottish economist named Adam Smith launched another revolution with a book entitled “The Wealth of Nations,” which exposed for all time the folly of protectionism. Over the past 200 years, not only has the argument against tariffs and trade barriers won nearly universal agreement among economists, but it has also proven itself in the real world where we have seen freetrading nations prosper, while protectionist countries fall behind.

America’s most recent experiment with protectionism was a disaster for the working men and women of this country. When Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930, we were told that it would protect America from foreign competition and save jobs in this country-the same line we hear today. The actual result was the Great Depression, the worst economic catastrophe in our history; one out of four Americans were thrown out of work. Two years later, when I cast my first ballot for President, I voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who opposed protectionism and called for the repeal of that disastrous tariff.

Ever since that time, the American people have stayed true to our heritage by rejecting the siren song of protectionism. In recent years, the trade deficit led some misguided politicians to call for protectionism, warning that otherwise we would lose jobs. But they were wrong again. In fact, the United States not only didn’t lose jobs, we created more jobs than all the countries of Western Europe, Canada, and Japan combined. The record is clear that when America’s total trade has increased, American jobs have also increased. And when our total trade has declined, so have the number of jobs.
...
Yet, today, protectionism is being used by some American politicians as a cheap form of nationalism, a fig leaf for those unwilling to maintain America’s military strength and who lack the resolve to stand up to real enemies: countries that would use violence against us or our allies. Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies, they are our allies, We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends, weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world-all while cynically waving the American flag. The expansion of the international economy is not a foreign invasion, it is an American triumph, one we worked hard to achieve and something central to our vision of a peaceful and prosperous world of freedom.
...........
Yes, back in 1776, our Founding Fathers believed that free trade was worth fighting for, and we can celebrate their victory. Because today, trade is at the core of the alliance that secures the peace and guarantees our freedom; it is the source of our prosperity and the path to an even brighter future for America.

SO I believe that to be consistent with Reagan vision we need to concentrate on more productivity here rather relying on higher prices for over seas good. For most part will still buy overseas goods and just send even more dollars overseas. I was looking at Sweden’s economy last night to see how they have not collapsed after instituting socialized medicine (which has been bad for them). their saving grace is their exports - exports equal to their imports and equal to about 30% of GDP. That’s what we need to do.