Tariffs Against China? A No-Brainer, According to Adam Smith

Adam Smith/Source: Wikicommons

Guest post by Drieu Godefridi

In a world where the global economy bristles with grievances, lamentations and threats, the U.S. tariffs against China arouse anger and incomprehension. Labeled as retrograde protectionism, these tariffs – of up to 145% – are nonetheless defensible in the light of Adam Smith, titan of liberal thought. Far from caricatures, Smith, in The Wealth of Nations (1776), was no zealot of unilateral free trade. His nuances, rooted in pragmatism...