It's just telling that you've got an authoritarian playbook that sort of, at every pass, seems to be more focused on driving up corporate profits at the expense of the American people.
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The Case for Free Trade
THE CASE FOR FREE TRADE
Kent Lassman
T rade policy is about more than goods and services: It is a statement of American identity. Our trade policy choices reveal America’s values and where we
put our trust. Do we place our trust in Washington elites to revive a declining coun try, or do we trust in America’s tradition of entrepreneurs and everyday people
blazing new trails? Do we follow China by copying its strong-arm trade policies,
or do we lead China and the rest of the world by forging our own path? Our trade
policy decisions will tell you what we Americans really think of ourselves.
A CONSERVATIVE VISION FOR TRADE
The policy recommendations in this chapter reflect a belief in the strength of America’s founding institutions, its economy, and its people. They are based on data showing decades of American progress with all that this implies. They also reflect arealistic understanding of the fact that trade policy has limited capabilities and is vulnerable to mission creep and regulatory capture. Policymakers should be modest about what they can accomplish through trade policy and need to exercise constant vigilance against abuses. For example:
• Trade can lower consumer prices for ordinary Americans and open new markets for American businesses and their goods.
• Trade can help American workers and businesses to specialize in what they do best—which is how they outcompete the rest of the world in technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and other areas.
• In foreign policy, trade can help to preserve and strengthen alliances.
At the same time, sound trade policy requires humility. It is not a panacea for every policy problem. Trade policy cannot favor one sector over another without causing tradeoffs that outweigh the benefits. Neither free trade nor protectionism will create jobs. Trade affects the types of jobs people have, but it has no long-run effect on the number of jobs. Labor force size is tied to population size more than anything else. The American people are smart and sophisticated enough to hear these truths.
It is not just conservatives who overestimate the power of trade policy. Recent progressive attempts to use trade policy to advance whole-of-government initiatives on climate, equity, and other issues will fail for the same reason that a hammer cannot turn a screw: It is the wrong tool for the job. Conservatives should be similarly skeptical of recent attempts on the Right to use progressive trade policy to punish political opponents, remake manufacturing, or accomplish other objectives