What's Up With NAFTA & China Tariffs?: LPP EP 32

In this Let People Prosper episode, I discuss today's enactment by the Trump administration of $16 billion more in tariffs on Chinese products by the Trump administration along with my recent presentation before the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce in Houston on the importance of institutions along with the benefits of international trade.

While there are certainly acute costs for specific people in trade activity with people in other countries, the benefits are widely dispersed. This is why it's easy for politicians to point to trade as being the problem, such as auto manufacturing or steel, when the primary problem is poor domestic policies. The facts show that trade, whether by individuals domestically or abroad, are overwhelmingly positive. Alternatively, higher taxes from trade leads to increased uncertainty for entrepreneurs that contributes to less economic activity and job creation.

For example, in my recent paper I note that the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, which got rid of tariffs among these countries, supports at least 14 million jobs in the U.S., with many of them in Texas. We should not look at trade deficits but rather trade flows. 

Watch the YouTube video above and view the presentation below to learn more. 

U.S.- Mexico Chamber of Commerce presentation on how Institutions Matter: NAFTA
File Size:	2760 kb
File Type:	pdf

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