It’s the End of Free Trade as We Know It and I (Don’t) Feel Fine

To Whom It May Concern (and it should concern all):

During the campaign for the Democratic primary, then-candidate Obama fell into a mild form of populism by decrying the North American Free Trade Agreement and declaring his intention to “renegotiate NAFTA.”  With that simple declaration, many progressives and classical liberals came to fear that the positive and message of Mr. Obama’s campaign was at best only applicable to his domestic plans for the United States and at worst completely beholden to the special interests of the Democratic Party.  At the time, left-of-center political pundits and other supporters of Mr. Obama dismissed his critics’ fears about his stance on free trade by saying that his skepticism of NAFTA was only “campaign rhetoric” designed to garner support for his campaign.

After arriving in office, however, President Obama surrounded himself with many centrist politicians and technocrats, including many from the Clinton Administration, who were at least nominally in favor open markets and free trade.  Indeed, at last years’ April G20 summit, Mr. Obama, along with many other world leaders, affirmed the importance of maintaining liberal trade policies.

Despite setbacks in Congress and dangerous “buy American” clauses in its stimulus package, the Obama Administration seemed not to be a major hindrance to progressive policies on free trade.  It seemed that the Administration would not be beholden to the protectionist policies of the populists in Congress.  It seemed that way, that is, until last Friday’s announcement by the administration that it would impose a 35% tariff on Chinese tires imported into the United States.

With this move, the President has shown that he is willing to sacrifice America’s good standing in the world and its relations with one of its most important trading partners in the name of his domestic pursuits.  By acting to preserve the political good will of his trade-union backers on his health care reform package, the President has demonstrated, once again, that far too few American politicians are willing to fight for the good of all Americans.

Yes, it is true that few politicians, either on the right or the left, fight for the cause of free trade.  Republican legislators criticize the Democrats for being anti-free trade and then advocate an expensive and inefficient farm bill in the same breath.  Representative Nancy Pelosi visits China’s trade ministry while at the same time effectively demolishing a the good faith of the United States by underhandedly nixing its Columbia Free Trade Agreement.  Indeed, the “icon of free trade,” former President George W. Bush, could not resist appealing to important constituencies by imposing steel tariffs in order to placate powerful trade unions in America’s rust belt.  Even fewer politicians make the case that free trade benefits both American consumers and the vast majority of American producers.

It is safe to say that the President’s recent tariffs demonstrate that the he is little different than many of his predecessors, including those who effectively destroyed the Doha Round of trade talks.  Unfortunately, the illiberal trade rhetoric of Mr. Obama’s campaign is all too real.  That, however, is not a policy of change.  It is distressingly much more of the same.

Sincerely,

Further In

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