Trump, "Free Trade", and the Lies We Tell Ourselves

America's trade deals could use a re-think.

by Rod D. Martin
July 20, 2020

I have been asked recently about my thoughts on free trade in light of recent events with China, and also Brexit. I thought I'd share them with you.

First, lest we be unclear: I deny that any deal the United States has ever signed other than the U.S. Constitution constitutes actual free trade. Pretending otherwise makes a mockery of the very concept of free trade, which I strongly support.

However, that doesn't mean I'm not for opening up trade as much as possible, so long as the deals we make are good. And "good" must be defined in terms of benefit to the country our leaders represent, the United States of America. They are sworn to protect and defend Americans, 328 million moms and dads and kids and grandmas who depend on their leaders to look out for them, not someone else somewhere else. It's not that we don't care about those people: we do. It's that you have to pay the rent, buy groceries, and pay for dental work for your own kids before you do it for …