My Free Book: Protectionism and Poverty
Free trade is the litmus test of free market economics. It has been ever since Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776).
There are people who say they are in favor of capitalism or the free market. But they also say that tariffs are a good idea in order to make the economy both fair and productive. Anyone who says this does not understand economic theory.
Tariffs are sales taxes. Anyone who tells you that it's a good idea for the government to raise taxes is not a friend of liberty unless he also calls for the elimination of graduated income taxes as the quid pro quo for imposing tariffs. But these people always call for tariffs as legitimate and necessary on top of existing taxes. They do not make the analytical connection: "A tariff is a sales tax on imports." Higher taxes would increase poverty. If you doubt this logic, read my book.
The logic of free trade is easy to understand if you start with individual decision-makers who want to trade with each other. Don't start with aggregate statistical concepts: the so-called balance of trade or balance of payments. You don't use these concepts when discussing free trade across the country, across the county, or across the street. Don't use them when thinking about national borders, either.
A tariff always means a man with a badge and a gun. The gun is pointed at your belly. The man says:
"You're not gonna trade with that fellow on the other side of the border unless you pay me money. If you don't pay me money, that's not good for America. You may think it's good for you, but what's good for you is bad for America. I'm gonna turn the money over to the Treasury -- after Customs Department handling fees, of course -- so that Congress can spend it. That's gonna make America great again."
To avoid that man, reduce tariffs to zero . . . unless you can get Congress to abolish the graduated income tax, the Social Security tax, the Medicare tax, and the corporate income tax as part of the deal.
Download the book here: https://www.garynorth.com/ProtectionismAndPoverty.pdf.