In the post immediately before this one, I posted an editorial cartoon from Lisa Benson criticizing the federal administration’s decision to impose a tariff on Chinese tires. It’s a foolish decision — the tires are made more inexpensively than alternatives, and save consumers money.
The case for free trade — free and unrestricted markets across borders, is overwhelming.
Over at Cato@Liberty, Daniel Griswold has a post entitled, “A Super-Majority of Economists Agree: Trade Barriers Should Go,” that describes clear support for free trade among economists.
Here’s an excerpt:
Based on questionnaires returned by more than 100 members [of the American Economic Association], all with Ph.D.s in economics, the survey’s author, Robert Whaples, reports:
The economics profession continues to show a consensus in favor of unfettered international trade, as 83 percent agree and only 10 percent disagree that the United States should eliminate remaining tariffs and other barriers.
Other issues in which the economists reached a strong consensus:
82 percent disagreed that the U.S. government should ban genetically modified crops; only 7 percent agreed.
78 percent agreed that U.S.-government subsidies for ethanol should be eliminated or reduced, compared to 10 percent who want them increased….
72 percent disagree with the proposition that “Employers in the U.S. should be required to provide health insurance to ALL their employees”; 20 percent agreed….