The Free Trader's Case for Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs

Trump may do more for free trade than all others before him.

by Rod D. Martin
March 19, 2025

Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs, scheduled to take effect April 2, predictably flummoxed globalists and free traders alike. Yet in fact, both groups should be thrilled. The real question is why they didn’t think of it first.

(And yes, there’s an answer to that.)

Tariffs may indeed be a tax on consumers, but only if they buy the products subject to the tariffs. This is the part lost on many of my free trader friends, and I don’t blame them because I am a free trader and for a long time it was lost on me. But if they don’t buy those products — because the tariff prices them out of the market — consumers don’t pay that tax at all. They just shift their consumption to cheaper goods.

Now in the long run, there’s no question that trade barriers are bad for everybody, including American consumers. The issue isn’t just prices: it’s also the gradual increase in inefficiency and reduction in quality that develop as a result of the lack of competition…