All throughout its history, the United States has partaken in international trade in some form. International trade is essential to becoming a major player on the world’s stage. Economic theory has demonstrated that trade between countries is mutually beneficial. These statements are all facts. Nevertheless, international trade is a highly contested political issue in the U.S., even to the extent that a presidential candidate's position on trade can make or break his (or her) chances of taking the White House. In recent years, any movement towards efficient trade policy is undercut by a highly politicized debate on the degree of open trade (also commonly referred to as free trade) that the U.S. should engage in. Using the Douglas Irwin’s arguments in Free Trade Under Fire, this paper …show more content…
Countries will likely pursue either an open-trade policy or a protectionist policy. Protectionist policies are designed, in theory, to promote the domestic wealth of the country by prioritizing domestic production and exports. In times of economic crisis, it is tempting to adopt such policies because they provide the illusion of job security and increased profits via increased domestic productivity. However, history has shown that this is not necessarily the case. The Great Depression of the 1930s is a prime example. In the face of a tanking economy, America turned to protectionism. As the Depression began to spread beyond the U.S., negatively impacting the economies of U.S. trading partners, many other nations turned to protectionism as well. Protectionist policies slowed the economic recovery and it wasn’t until the outbreak of World War II that there was a change of pace. This period of economic protection revealed that protectionist policies actually harm domestic employment as well as raise industry expenses and consumer prices. Thus, in the post-war period, there was a widespread and deliberate shift toward open-trade