“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.
Trump Tries to Save U.S. Solar but May Kill It Instead
President Trump has imposed tariffs on imported solar panels and solar cells, but is that an effort to save the solar industry or undermine it?
U.S. Trade Agreements: Reasons For Restraint
As Merrill Matthews of the Institute for Policy Innovation noted in a Jan. 2 Wall Street Journal op-ed column, NAFTA participants Canada, Mexico and the United States are codependent on energy and benefit from the trade agreement’s tariff terms.
Swazi Farmers Brace for Life Without Their Sugar Daddy
With the EU set to lift caps on sugar production, African producers could be squeezed out of a market that has propped up places like Swaziland for years.
African Farmers Brace for Life Without Sweet Support From EU
More than 100 countries, from Cuba to India to Russia, produce sugar from sugarcane and sugar beet. Many of them are able to undercut the prices demanded by Swazi farmers, who receive no subsidies from their government, in markets such as West Africa and the Middle East.
Energy Independence Is Close, but Not Close Enough
The U.S. is becoming a net natural gas exporter, which is one step closer to energy independence.
When Trump Touts 'Made in America' He Should Talk Energy Too
There is at least one sector where “Made in America” means a stronger economy — not a weaker one.
IPI Congratulates Vishal Amin on IPEC Nomination
IPI congratulates Vishal Amin on his nomination by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to be the next U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, and urges the Senate to swiftly approve Amin’s nomination.
Trump's Tweet Tirade Against Germany Could Backfire On U.S.
"The U.S. has a trade deficit because consumers have money to spend — and they spend it," said Merrill Matthews, IPI resident scholar, in a recent post. "Moreover, when U.S. consumers buy foreign goods and services (the current account), that money returns in the form of investment (the capital account). In other words, the accounts balance."
Why Is Trump Complaining About German Trade?
Germany produces quality products and services that consumers, including Americans, voluntarily choose to buy. So why is President Trump criticizing Germany's trade surplus?
Want to See What Protectionism Looks Like? Look at Steel
We don't have to turn to economic theory to see the problems with protective tariffs, we have real life examples.
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