Moving From Protectionism to Liberalization

NEW TITLE: Competing intellectual views on Liberalism and Protectionism from 1900-1940

Introduction

While there have many fluctuations in the level of openness in the international economy, one period that stands out for its sharp turnaround is 1930-1934. In the span of four years, the United States went from imposing the Smoot-Hawley tariff, the most protective tariff in U.S. history, to signing the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, which “changed the way trade policy was determined and set the stage for American leadership in efforts to expand international trade.” (Bailey, Goldstein, and Weingast, 1997).

Section Two: Historical Views of Free Trade

Economists in support of free trade: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Jean Baptiste Say, Frederic Bastiat, John Stuart Mill, Nicolaas Pierson, William Sumner

Economists in favor of protectionism: Alexander Hamilton, Daniel Raymond, Henry Carey, Adam Muller

Section Three: An Overview of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff

--Brief outline of years leading up to Smoot-Hawley and other important (and increasinly restrictive) tariffs: McKinley Tariff of 1890, Fordney-McCumber Act in 1922

--Economists writing during this period:

Frank William Taussing: Protection and Free Trade. The Case for Free Trade.

Joseph Chamberlain: The Riddle of the Tariff

---

Section Four: Conclusion Question:

---

References