There is no doubt that the Wall Street Journal is desperate to go back to the utopian thought of “free trade” agreements. Let’s face it, the damage is done, people are up in arms about it, and there is no going back. They posted an article about how Reagan’s protectionism is destructionism and how that idea would be derided in the 2016 race. Our own Dan DiMicco shared his thoughts on the article and wrote this:
The cumulative effect of “FTA’s since 1990 has been a goods trade deficit of $13 Trillon. The era of free trade has been a huge bust for America! Why?
Because the FTA’s have been badly negotiated, had the rules badly enforced or allowed to be circumvented as tariffs were replaced by VAT taxes,or massive subsidies by Governments like China, including currency manipulation
The last American administration and Congress to get it right on trade was that of President Reagan/ Tip O’Neil, and their actions/policies of the mid 80’s. Reagan was quite clear on this! He was for free trade BUT only if it did not result in undermining Americans businesses at home and American workers. Republicans need to really study the true Reagan legacy on trade not what has been distorted to extremes by special interest groups. Please, as a Reagan Republican, I challenge you to go back to “Rules based and Enforced” Free Trade for the future of our Country, and the World.
President Reagan gave a speech that established the principle of “free and fair trade with free and fair traders.” More specifically, he established the 3 R’s: Rules, Reciprocity and Results.
“Rules” mean that the trade must be rules based and every nation should follow them. “Reciprocity” meant that there will be a reciprocal reduction in tariffs, quotas and other barriers rather than one-sized reduction. “Results,” the point forgotten most, meant that America must gain a net benefit from trade arrangements rather than being taken advantage of.
You can read the full article here
