192 The Necessity of Free Trade Introduction The argument of this essay is that the United States must adopt a policy of full free trade. In order to promote the public good it must completely eliminate “protective” measures like tariffs and quotas. These protect only domestic producers from foreign competition. Instead of protecting do- mestic consumers, trade restrictions harm their economic interest and vio- late their right to buy without government involvement. In today’s global economy, it is essential to maintain barrier-free exchange in the use of the world’s scarce resources. Protectionism reduces both absolute and com- parative advantage and causes damaging counter-trade policies. This is aside from the fact that it can cripple domestic industries. In the past, international trade was restricted by high transportation costs. These costs made local production for local consumption efficient for many goods and services. Under those conditions, government restric- tions on trade had fewer widespread effects than they do today. With im- provements in technology, the cost and difficulty of transportation and communication has become less important with more goods and services being traded to the mutual benefit of buyer and seller. Because of these innovations, the harm done by government restrictions on trade has be- come more pronounced on the individual consumer. Our argument is that a level of “protection,” that may have done little harm at one time, now has wide-ranging consequences because of the modern phenomenon of global economic interdependence. The Necessity of Free Trade Walter Block, Joseph Horton, and Debbie Walker Department of Economics and Finance University of Central Arkansas 192 Journal of Markets & Morality 1, no. 2(October 1998), 192-200 Copyright ©1998 Center for Economic Personalism