Quote:
Protectionism is not just misguided, it’s regressive
I think this is generally correct, and increasingly so as the global economy becomes more interdependent, with the caveat that it is too general
protectionism is a useful tool for certain limited purposes
strategic resources, for example, might be rationally subject to export taxes to keep the resources around
resources/goods that have a negative effect on society, like opium, can rationally be subject to trade bans
Quote:
Trump doesn't understand the difference between a ledger imbalance and a trade imbalance.
we know he's familiar with ledger imbalances