I am a strong supporter of free trade, but I’m not an absolutist.
- I have no philosophical objection to restrictions that limit the sale of military goods and technology to potentially hostile nations.
- I’m even somewhat open to the notion that China’s misbehavior on a wide range of issues might make targeted restrictions acceptable.
That being said, there is no legitimate argument for trade barriers with friendly nations.
Open trade between Japan, the United States, Chile, and the Netherlands is a good idea, just as open trade between Oregon, North Carolina, Iowa, and Texas is a good idea.
Anyone who argues otherwise is either stupid or dishonest.
And they open themselves to ridicule. Speaking of which, here’s a tweet from Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute. As the younger crowd would say, he dunked on Oren Cass.
Just in case anyone wants to nitpick, the United States is not the most prosperous nation in the world. Nor does America have the best trade policy (Singapore, for instance, beats the U.S. in both categories).
And I suppose I should point out (and I’m surely Michael Strain would agree) that North Korea is a hellhole for many reason. That nation’s self-imposed economic isolation simply makes a bad situation worse.
With those caveats out of the way, Strain wins the interaction with Cass. Game, set, and match.
P.S. Oren Cass opened himself to humiliation in part because he doesn’t understand trade deficits.
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Image credit: Collision Conf | CC BY 2.0.
