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“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.

December 4, 2024

Congress Should Reclaim Its Constitutional Authority Over Tariffs

Whether you support or oppose tariffs, all constitutionalists should agree: the power to tax resides with Congress. Reclaiming tariff authority is vital to preserving the Constitution’s design and the role of Congress in self-government.

January 12, 2024

A Fundamental Argument About Free Trade

Interesting argument on the fundamentals of trade policy, comparative advantage, etc. at the Law & Liberty blog.

December 19, 2023

What Donald Trump Can Learn from Switzerland

The Swiss understand that eliminating tariffs helps consumers and the economy. Donald Trump hasn't learned that lesson.

August 29, 2023

Donald Trump (aka 'Tariff Man') Wants to Increase Your Taxes

For some strange reason Donald Trump is campaigning on a big tax increase—rather than a tax cut, like he proposed in 2016—to help him win the White House.

June 22, 2023

Friendshoring: Both National Security and Economic Efficiency Matter

“Friend-shoring” need not be a violation of global liberalized trade so long as it results in a short list of countries we avoid trading with rather than a short list of countries we agree to trade with.

March 30, 2023

Tariffs: The Most Insidious Tax of All

Trump's tariffs, which Biden has retained, have cost Americans—not other countries—billions of dollars.

March 29, 2023

Trump's Tariffs Swelled the Swamp

Trump's tariffs, which Biden has retained, have cost Americans—not other countries—billions of dollars.

December 20, 2022

Free Trade Theory Must Be Tempered by Trade Realism

A trade policy embracing free trade is the goal; but many of our trading partners engage in practices that force us to adjust that goal to fit reality.  

February 15, 2022

Biden Could Lower Prices by Ending Trump's Tariffs

President Biden is desperately looking for ways to address his inflation problem by lowering prices. Eliminating most or all of President Trump's tariffs would be a good start.

April 6, 2021

Janet Yellen Wants to Raise Corporate Tax Rates--on the World

Biden wants to raise the U.S. corporate tax rate AND establish a global corporate tax floor in order to discourage U.S. companies from fleeing to lower-tax countries.

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