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Martin Bedick's avatar

Great stuff Barry, as always, but especially worthwhile in today’s climate of non stop tariff talk.

It seems the only reason any two parties would trade with each other is that both believe they each benefit. Therefore, I have always been baffled that so many believe in the need for trade agreements. What for?

If one side of a potential transaction doesn’t benefit, they simply will not trade.

Now, perhaps a government might want to benefit certain businesses by reducing the competition to those businesses , but since there is always a trade-off, the cost of benefitting businesses is the harm done to consumers.

Businesses are not guaranteed any profits and must compete and earn whatever they can. Consumers should be able to buy whatever they want from whomever they want, and all government interventions reduce their ability to do so.

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Neal Rogachefsky's avatar

Barry, Is there any circumstance where Smith would approve of tariffs? I’m thinking of as leverage against unfair trade, labor and environmental practices by another country. If not, how might he propose dealing with it, or should it just be treated as factors in a consumer’s purchasing decision?

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