President Donald Trump is embracing protectionism because the U.S. imports more than it exports. This, he says, leads to foreign nations ripping off the country.
Unfortunately, many conservatives across the country appear to agree with the president. For the first time in decades, conservatives are now more skeptical of international trade than their liberal counterparts. This is a disturbing trend.
But what did former President Ronald Reagan think of trade and protectionism? Remember, Reagan is the Republican Party’s favorite president of all time. He talked the talk, but he didn’t necessarily walk the walk.
Here is a UPI report from 1985 that mentions Reagan and protectionist measures (our bold):
The president said foreign capital is coming into the United States ‘because we are the best and safest investment in the world.’
Perhaps more attractive is the high rate of interest America has to offer — rates kept high, economists say, because of the large U.S. budget deficit.
This round-robin problem means foreign countries are actually helping finance the nearly $200 billion U.S. budget deficit.
Reagan cautioned against hasty protectionist legislation to try to correct the trade imbalance. He noted the Smoot-Hawley tariff, enacted in the 1930s, sparked retaliation from other countries and is seen in retrospect as a major contributor to the Great Depression.
This is just proof, that if you do not know history, you are doomed to repeat it. When is the government going to realize that cheap imported goods help the average family keep more of their money; to save for college and retirement. When prices rise because of tariffs people will stop buying the products and we will enter a recession.