“It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy . . . . If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, better buy it of them with some part of the produce of our own industry, employed in a way in which we have some advantage.”
-Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776
IPI believes the United States should aggressively pursue trade liberalization, which includes a willingness to lower our own trade barriers even when other countries do not respond reciprocally. Ideally, those efforts include multilateral agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but bilateral agreements can also promote freer trade.
American consumers bear the brunt of the protectionist impulse through higher prices on consumer goods, and American workers are best served when liberalized trade policies facilitate the export of American products throughout the world. At a time when protectionist sentiments are growing, it is important to assert that the U.S. and its workers have nothing to fear from trade, and everything to gain.
The U.S. Trade Deficit Grew 'Big League' Under Trump
Donald Trump failed to reduce the U.S. trade deficit—because the economy was so good.
Biden Should Retain These Trump Policies to Keep America Great in 2021
There are at least four Trump initiatives that Biden should retain, which would help the country, both domestically and internationally.
Coalition Letter Opposing President Donald Trump's Recent "Most Favored Nation" Executive Order
In a coalition letter the signers urge President Trump to apply the same successful, deregulatory, market-based approach that he has championed in other policy areas to health care.
Joe Biden's 'Buy American or Else' Proposal
Democrats have long criticized President Trumps' economic policies, yet Joe Biden is now plagiarizing some of them—and making them worse.
The Changing Face of Trade
The U.S. post-war consensus on free trade is evaporating, and it's not clear what's replacing it.
Bring American Medical Manufacturing Back Home
Important legislation has been proposed that would encourage medical and pharmaceutical manufacturing to relocate to the U.S. by providing potent tax incentives instead of threats of government force.
Coalition Letter Regarding the Imposition of New Buy America Requirements for Medical Goods and Pharmaceutical Products
In this letter to the administration, economists from numerous organizations encourage the U.S. and its trading partners to pursue policies that make medical supplies more plentiful and affordable.
Coalition Letter Regarding the Proposed "Buy American" Mandate
If implemented, a Buy American mandate would disrupt existing supply chains, invite retaliatory actions from trading partners, and threaten timely access to medicines. In this current health crisis, such a mandate could even threaten our ability to adequately respond to the pandemic.
Pandemic-induced Protectionism Endangers Lives
The pandemic has demonstrated the need for more diversity in the pharmaceutical supply chain, not less.
Two Cheers for Trump's Budget and a Big Boo for Democrats' Response
A step-in-the-right-direction budget—if the reality matches the rhetoric, which it often doesn't.
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