The case for free trade
The Case for Free Trade
By Milton Friedman, Rose D. Friedman
Thursday, October 30, 1997
For example, the supporters of tariffs treat it as self evident that the creation of jobs is a desirable end, in and of itself, regardless of what the persons employed do. That is clearly wrong. If all we want are jobs, we can create any number–for example, have people dig holes and then fill them up again or perform other useless tasks. Work is sometimes its own reward. Mostly, however, it is the price we pay to get the things we want. Our real objective is not just jobs but productive jobs–jobs that will mean more goods and services to consume.
How Trade Agreements Have Enhanced the Freedom and Prosperity of Americans
By Daniel Griswold and Clark Packard
The most straightforward and preferable path to trade liberalization for any country is the unilateral reduction of trade barriers without regard for other countries’ trade policies. Unilateral liberalization allows a country to realize the gains from openness—mainly lower prices for consumers, lower-cost inputs for businesses, and a more favorable exchange rate for exporters—without the need for complicated negotiations with other countries. Many nations have followed this route with success, from Great Britain in the mid–19th century to China and India and other emerging economies since the 1980s.
Recommended Readings on Free Trade Versus Protectionism
By Williamson M. Evers
Economists, going back to Adam Smith and David Ricardo, are virtually unanimous that free trade benefits consumers and the overall economy. But there exist special interests who would gain in the short run from protectionist barriers. And there is a large segment of the public that doesn’t understand the arguments for free trade. Not surprisingly, there are politicians who are all too willing to gain votes by catering to protectionist interests.
'Ulysses Grant' comments:
"Free trade" was the English rebuttal to the ungrateful Americans who decided in 1789 that they would pay for the national government with tariffs. The intellectual debate only began in the United States a generation later; but, even then, it was only about how much harm Congress would do to libertarian beliefs in order to pay the bills. "True" freedom would only come much later, with the income tax - which has none of the defects that make tariffs so inherently immoral.
