Trump, Reagan, and Why Republicans Flip-Flopped on Free Trade

Donald Trump's economic advisers have gone from ridiculing tariffs and subsidies to promoting pure protectionism because of the paradigm-shifting, reality-distorting, cringe-inducing, and corrupting influence of power. The Republican Party's U-turn on free trade is the sad story of a team of presidential advisers with two opinions for every man. It's a cautionary tale of how the temptations of political power promote personality over principle.

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Before Trump took office, his advisers stood for free trade, which Ronald Reagan helped make central to the GOP.

Take former Congressman Mike Pence. In the House of Representatives, he voted to normalize trade relations with China. He praised NAFTA, voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and backed free trade agreements with Australia, Singapore, Chile, and Peru.

Even though Pence represented a state with over a hundred thousand auto workers, he voted against then-president Obama's corporate bailouts on principle.

After joining team Trump, Pence was a changed man. Rescued from an unpopular governorship, Pence was thrust into the national spotlight and his political career was given a new life—and more importantly, a new identity.

His conversion to protectionism was so sudden and complete that he had a hard time convincing journalists of his new faith.

As Pence hit the talk show circuit, we learned that the trade agreements he had supported over his political career were now "bad deal[s]" and "up for renegotiation." A month before he was sworn in as vice president, Pence went from badmouthing banking bailouts to bankrolling the Carrier corporation in his home state. One year after supporting free trade with China, he declared it enemy number one.

About the same time, Trump's campaign adviser Stephen Moore and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus were stressing key elements of protectionism in their speeches and public appearances. Moore told a group of top Republicans that the Grand Old Party was no longer the party of Ronald Reagan. "I used to be a free trader," he said. "The political reality is there's a backlash against trade. Whether we like it or not, we better adapt the rules in ways that benefit American workers more, or free trade is not going to flourish."

The Republican Party's bedrock principles are shifting at the rate of one presidential adviser at a time. After a year in office, members of Trump's economic team have either adopted the commander in chief's line on trade, or kept a low profile, or resigned.

As the U.S follows other countries down the path of economic nationalism, advocates for free trade are losing their voice. Fewer are making a compelling public case for free trade, as Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman did for decades.

It's a worldview that Moore, Priebus, Kudlow, and Vice President Pence all shared before joining team Trump and that Ronald Reagan stood up for inconsistently in the 1980s. Although NAFTA and the precursor to the World Trade Organization were born from his administration, Reagan also raised a 100 percent tariff on Japanese electronics, and a 45 percent tariff on Japanese motorcycles. He slapped export quotas on cars and machine tools and Canadian lumber and sugar. Enough economic nationalism to make our current protectionist-in-chief proud.

Which goes to say: Maybe president Trump is more Reagan-esque than he gives even himself credit for.

Produced, written, narrated, and edited by Todd Krainin.

[ThePholosopher]

Another example of why it is not about Left vs. Right, nor Republican vs. Democrat, but simply about the State vs. YOU and Tyranny vs. Liberty!

[JustinVK]

I'm surprised you guys are calling these agreements "free trade"

[AlbertastPodcast]

How does reason tv not have more than a million subribers??? Best video yet I did not know that!!!!

[DoneDragon]

Its not free trade if every other country puts tariffs on the USA

[PIANOPHUNGUY]

FAIR TRADE not Free trade! I DIDN'T vote for NAFTA. Long live USMCA.

[kekort]

Bush did the same thing as Pence when he became Reagan's VP. He'd called Regan's supply side plan "voodoo economics, " but had to change his tune as VP.

[abramgaller]

The government has no business being involved with trade.

[survivalistboards]

There is nothing free about free trade.

[ChrisParrishOutdoors]

ReasoTV logic: Pay enormous tariffs trying to import stuff to China, have China pay almost no tariffs when importing to US, then do nothing and hope China changes out of the goodness of their heart.

How would you address the situation? Because I agree tariffs are a not a good thing.

[BEZEver]

Reagan, Said tear DOWN that WALL! Trump Yells Build That Wall.

[Milton_Friedmanite]

As a Republican this disappoints me greatly

[dangime]

It's been said many times, we'd like free trade, but other countries consistently cheat on this, doing their own protectionism, stealing technology, etc. That's not free trade. Consider this, even if this seems beneficial to us in the short run, there's a story about a farmer and some wild geese. They wouldn't get near the farmer, but he threw corn out for them to eat. Each day he threw the corn a little closer to his barn. The last day he threw the corn in the barn itself, and the geese didn't care. He closed the barn doors and he had meat for the entire winter. Giving our industry away bit by bit to authoritian powers simply puts us in the same scenario.

[AKlover]

Resistance of people to find new work makes this a reality. American workers cannot compete with Chinese serfs, and Americans will NOT PAY THE PREMIUM to subsidize overpaid fellow Americans. Trade deals need to be re-done and China's markets to our goods needs to open up. Free trade for those who reciprocate absolutely, China does not.

[hatefulhermit]

"Conservatives" believe free market capitalism can't compete with socialist economies but then claim socialism is unsustainable... Hypocrisy at its finest.

[mrdonetx]

Free trade needs to be replaced with fair trade. Fine if no one puts tarrifs on imports. But only if those imports are playing on the same level. Importing products made in a poor country by people being paid pennies a day, working 18hrs/day, no benefits and no safety regulations isn't on the same level. So impose tarrifs on those imports because no developed country can compete with that unless they stoop to thier level. We know that would be impossible and just wrong. Keep half the money of the tariff for government take the other half and find a way to give it back to those workers bypassing the company they work for.

[kase]

Maybe tariffs should be the only federal tax.

[richdobbs]

I'm all for free trade, once we stop subsidizing shipping by keeping ocean shipping lanes open with 11 carrier groups. If China had to pay the full cost for getting its raw materials, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico would be the low wage factories of North America.

[vnews]

Unilateral free trade is the best option.

[Matthew.R.Gaglio]

Reagan looked like a total hipster with that hat

[jimrichardson]

If other countries have tariffs on US goods, you can't do nothing.  China has 30% tariff on Harley Davidson.  If China has tariffs like this on all sorts of US goods should the US really do nothing?