Protectionism Vs. Free Trade

Free trade is the unrestricted purchase and sale of goods and services between countries without the imposition of protection such as tariffs and quotas. This enables economies to focus on their core competitive advantage(s), thereby maximizing economic output and fostering income growth for their citizens. Australian exports rose from $66.6 billion in 1990-91 to $300.4 billion in 2012-13, with an average growth in export volumes of 4.6 per cent per annum since 1990-91. This is reflective of Australia’s proactive actions to phase out protection since the 1970s. The major effects of domestic and global free trade and protection policies

In the acclaimed novel, The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism, author Russell Roberts, an economist and writer, tells a fictional story that enlightens readers to the wonders of the economic system. Russell provides an insightful, thought provoking story that illustrates protectionism and free trade, while making the concepts and arguments easy to comprehend.

The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism, written by Russell Roberts, is a non-fictional story based around the topics of international trade. The novel’s title does convey what the book is about in a broad sense but is further understood on its accuracy when it is finished. Terminology included simpler words than those of economists so the concepts could be understandable by an average person. There are two main characters in the book, Ed Johnson and David Ricardo. Ed Johnson is the president of the company Star who is a television manufacturer based in the United States. David Ricardo, referred to as Dave throughout the book, is an English economists who is best known for creating the theory of comparative advantage.

Main protectionist policies include tariffs, quotas, embargos and voluntary export restraints, and Adam Smith’s idea of absolute advantage has been developed further to explain international trade. In recent years, protectionism has become closely related to globalization during which the influences of trades spread almost everywhere, so people insist upon the study of social deformities generated by improper policies on international trade and the task of pointing them out with a view to remedy. There are certainly both economic and political purposes of trade

The advantages of free trade- The law of comparative advantage comes into play when a country engages in free trade. This means that a country will be selling goods and services that it can produce at a relatively low cost and buying those that would be costly to produce. It also is in an advantageous position as it can get a wide variety of goods at the cheapest price possible. International trade also promotes competition in domestic markets and allows the consumers to purchase a wider variety of goods at lower prices. Too much regulatory policies that reduce trade also retard economic progress. This includes limiting entry of new firms in various businesses. Regulations that give priority to political authority over the rule of law and freedom of contract always undermine gains from trade. This creates the problem of corruption, red tape, and inefficiency. When they set the price above the market price, consumers are discouraged to purchase them. Allocation of capital into wealth creating projects is a sign of vibrant capital market. It is essential to have mechanisms capable of efficiently using the available resources for a country to realize its potential. Investment in capital needs to be consumption-oriented. The value of the additional output derived from the investment needs to exceed the cost of investment. The country needs to invest its resources in productive endeavors. In the modern economy, the capital market plays an important role (p. 51-89).

Protectionism will destroy our PPP and the existing economies of scale, given the current government regulation. America needs innovation and entrepeneurship, and for the government to pull it's dick out of the economy. The government and corporations ensured America will likely never be a manufacturing based economy

One of the greatest international economic debates of all time has been the issue of free trade versus protectionism. Proponents of free trade believe in opening the global market, with as few restrictions on trade as possible. Proponents of protectionism believe in concentrating on the welfare of the domestic economy by limiting the open-market policy of the United States. However, what effects does this policy have for the international market and the other respective countries in this market? The question is not as complex as it may seem. Both sides have strong opinions representing their respective viewpoints, and even the population of the United States is divided when it comes to taking a stand in

Cohort 4 believes that fair trade is the most prosperous way to trade with other countries. Both free trade and fair trade have advantages and disadvantages. The researchers in Cohort 4 have established a viewpoint regarding fair trade and free trade. Considering the research that the cohort has conducted, they are in opposition to free trade.

Countries are enabled by free international trade to specialise or to focus in the production of the goods in which they have a comparative advantage. Specialisation countries can take the benefit of efficiencies generated from increased output and economies of trade. The size of the firm’s market are increased by the international trade which results in lower average costs and increasing in productivity, as it ultimately leads to increase in production.

A nationalist political economy places the emphasis on the nation as a whole. The nation is more important than the individual whereas the opposite was found in the liberal political economy. A nation that executes free trade with a nationalistic approach is looking for the most benefits to the nation itself. The nations that benefit from free trade with this approach place an important emphasis on state power. That is, how powerful is the nation within the global community. Free trade enables nations to strive for global supremacy by importing materials at a cheap price and manufacturing them so as to export them at a higher price. The advantages of nationalistic free trade is larger countries (similar to the minority in liberal political economy) are empowered to attain materials for mass production at a cheaper price, from it’s less powerful trading partners. By manufacturing mass amounts of goods, all aspects of the economy (the workforce and other indirect secondary sectors) will

The theory of comparative advantage explains the benefit of free trade. According to this theory by David Ricardo in the early 19th century, “Both countries will be better off if each specializes in the industry where it has a comparative advantage, and if the two trade with one another.” (Citation) International trade opens up markets to foreign supplier, and domestic companies need to improve their efficiency, boost productivity, and lower cost to increase competitiveness instead of enjoying monopolies or oligopolies that enabled them to keep prices well above marginal costs. On the other hand, international trade also offers domestic companies bigger demands and broader markets; therefore more jobs relevant to export have been created. Furthermore, jobs in the US supported by goods exports pay 13-18 percent more than the US national average (ustr.gov).

Throughout the years, there has been a constant controversy over whether the World Trade Organization should enforce global free trade. The primary idea is to establish in which all are happy. Although there are many advocates for trade liberalization, as well as many who oppose. I believe free trade may be advantageous for both large and small-industrialized countries, but it does not favor the smaller developing countries needs primarily.

Many economists today argue that the fewer tariffs and barriers there are to foreign trade, the better everyone fares. That view underlies the agreements that the United States and 152 other countries have made as members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Among other

Historically, governments have implemented policies that increase the cost and risks of doing international business. This was, at the time, considered sound economic logic, that is, to protect a country’s own industry from international competition. Mainly via imposing tariffs on imported goods, governments would signal their intent to protect the local economy. As economic literature has continually developed over time, the creation of a more open international business market has become relevant for all governments across the world, who now play a significant role in creating international business effectiveness, as evidenced by an uptake in WTO members building trade-promoting agreements in recent decades (Kohl, Brakman, & Garretsen, 2016). What was once seen as a threat to economic prosperity, has in fact turned into an enticing source of economic growth. One may consider the paradoxical nature of such a transition, given these once protectionist governments are now favouring a free trade movement. However, for a paradox to occur, conflicting arguments must exist concurrently, and it is the purpose of this paper to argue that an evolution in economic theory is responsible for the shift in government policy. In doing so, an exploration of the ways by which governments have historically increased the risk and cost of doing international business will take place. Moreover, the economic theory responsible for the philosophical shift made by governments to now support

Furthermore, in contrast to protectionism economies, which stress domestic economic growth, trade liberalization economies provide a beneficial way for foreign markets to compete with ease. Trade liberalization is essentially the opposite where you decrease trade barriers with foreign countries in order to simulate the native economy and boost the confidence of the industries to take their business abroad. This type of economic practice occurs in modern times as well. Around the world right now in countries such as India and Argentina, possess quite fewer regulations and restrictions on international trade than other countries on the same general market. These countries tend to prosper from trading goods and services produced by well-developed nations to fuel their economic growth.