Free-traders only sing when they’re winning

Larry Elliott

The Guardian

Donald Trump’s embrace of protectionism is such an affront to the reigning orthodoxy of trade liberalisation, says Larry Elliott, one forgets that historically he’s mainstream. In England protection began with Edward III in the 14th century: he imposed controls on English wool exports, depriving the Low Countries of the raw material they needed to make cloth. For the next five centuries protection was the norm: Elizabeth I nurtured England’s textile trade; the Navigation Acts ensured the colonies could only trade with Britain. What’s more, it worked. It put Flemish and Indian textile-makers out of business; it stymied the growth of industry in the American colonies. Only in 1860, when British manufacturers dominated the world, were tariffs scrapped. It was the same story with a rapidly industrialising America in the 19th century: its high tariffs on manufactured imports were only dismantled after it had secured global economic supremacy after the Second World War. In sum, the lust for free trade goes with being top dog. It began to wane in the US in the 1980s when Japan threatened that primacy. Now, with the greater threat posed by China, it’s in full retreat.