NationStates Jolt Archive

My proposal is called the "Anti-Protectionism Measure." It calls for a ban on all tariffs of any kind. The world's economies cannot reach peak efficiency with the existence of even a single tariff. While tariffs can be helpful to select segments of a given economy, the overall effect of tariffs always result in a dead-weight loss to all economies concerned. The good effects of any tariff are always outweighed by the bad effects. Anybody who is interested in reaching peak economic efficiency should support this proposal.

My proposal is called the "Anti-Protectionism Measure." It calls for a ban on all tariffs of any kind. The world's economies cannot reach peak efficiency with the existence of even a single tariff. While tariffs can be helpful to select segments of a given economy, the overall effect of tariffs always result in a dead-weight loss to all economies concerned. The good effects of any tariff are always outweighed by the bad effects. Anybody who is interested in reaching peak economic efficiency should support this proposal.

I agree. Tariffs are like closing the curtains on a stopped train to give the illusion that it's moving. Sooner or later, reality catches up.

However, this proposal may be somewhat too rigid. A SMALL short-term tariff may be beneficial to developing economies. Maybe we could just restrict countries to having a tariff of no greater than 10% on any good?

Funny how some of the wealthiest nations in the world are the ones with most tariffed economies. Strange... :?

Eliminating tariffs will maximize total production, provided that no resources remain idle, but it will also affect how wealth is distributed. Free trade increases competition among businesses, but also among workers. As long as there are nations with unlimited population growth and no protections of labor, workers in every nation will be forced down to a subsistence level of income, if they are brought into competition with these unprotected and oversupplied laborers.
World commerce is not a zero sum game, and free trade does increase the sum; but there are still winners and losers. The losers are the workers in countries with higher standards of living.

Funny how some of the wealthiest nations in the world are the ones with most tariffed economies. Strange... :?

Not really. The US hasn't had high tariffs in decades. It's like 2-3% now.

Eliminating tariffs will maximize total production, provided that no resources remain idle, but it will also affect how wealth is distributed. Free trade increases competition among businesses, but also among workers. As long as there are nations with unlimited population growth and no protections of labor, workers in every nation will be forced down to a subsistence level of income, if they are brought into competition with these unprotected and oversupplied laborers.
World commerce is not a zero sum game, and free trade does increase the sum; but there are still winners and losers. The losers are the workers in countries with higher standards of living.

However, since the total gain far outweighs the total loss, and national borders are arbitrary anyways, we should do what maximizes quality of life and slash tariffs.

However, since the total gain far outweighs the total loss, and national borders are arbitrary anyways, we should do what maximizes quality of life and slash tariffs.
On the contrary, we should do what maximizes quality of life for ourselves, and to hell with other countries.

However, since the total gain far outweighs the total loss, and national borders are arbitrary anyways, we should do what maximizes quality of life and slash tariffs.
On the contrary, we should do what maximizes quality of life for ourselves, and to hell with other countries.

And in the medium and long term, low tariffs help ourselves too. A high tariff encourages other countries to raise their tariffs, thus cutting off our trade with them. Which is harmful beyond the first two or three years. And it was a key cause of the Great Depression.

However, this proposal may be somewhat too rigid. A SMALL short-term tariff may be beneficial to developing economies. Maybe we could just restrict countries to having a tariff of no greater than 10% on any good?

I understand what you're saying, but that seems like Anti-Protectionism lite. Once we realize that protectionism is bad in principal, we should go all the way to stamp it out. The end result will be a boost to the overall standard of living to all nations. Like any other strong economic change, it will take time for the full benefit to be realized. The overall standard of living will increase, and that means for everybody; not just the rich. Free trade is not a system that results in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Only half of that analogy is true: the rich will get richer. However, the poor will get less poor. In the end, reaching peak economic efficiency raises the quality of life for everybody.