When politicians enact laws to put America first, they put some Americans more first than others. The protectionist policies sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats are ostensibly about favoring domestic […]
Tag: Free Trade
An Open Letter to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Word has it that, especially because the UK has now ‘brexited’ the European Union, you want a UK-US trade deal that would further increase trade between the British and American […]
Is It An Economic Crime To Import a Soccer Jersey?
I committed an economic crime recently. In the past few months, I’ve permitted myself to spend a few dollars frivolously when I publish an article or give a speech. Most […]
Do Not Tarry In Eliminating Tariffs and Other Protectionist Measures
In my previous column I identified some illiberal policies that, although I wish these had never been put into place, I’d not now eliminate immediately with the push of a […]
The Amazing Cargo Ship
When I introduce my (mostly) freshmen students to the economics of international trade, I steal an idea that I learned from David Friedman and Steve Landsburg. I start by showing […]
Biden’s “Buy American” Scheme a Bad Deal for America
In words seemingly echoing his predecessor, President Joe Biden highlighted his “buy American” initiative in his 2023 State of the Union Address last week. “When we do these projects, and […]
Two Ways Trade Creates Wealth
We trade so frequently that we don’t even think about it any longer. It’s just mundane, and indeed, if you’re reading this, you’re probably unfamiliar with a world in which […]
NatCons, the American System, and the Founders
Did America’s Founding Fathers really embrace a nationalist economic program of tariffs and industrial subsidies? According to the “National Conservative” movement, such Founding Era luminaries as Thomas Jefferson and James […]
Choosing to Remain in the Global Market Economy
In my recently published paper, “Should Trade’s ‘Losers’ Be Compensated?: An Exploration of the Welfare Economics of the Losses and Costs of Economic Change” (Journal of Law, Economics and Policy, […]
Individuals, Not Governments, Have a Comparative Advantage at Improving Comparative Advantages
Except for the theory of the optimum tariff, all sophisticated arguments for using protectionism to enrich the people of the home country boil down to one claim. The core claim […]