Free trade is Biblical

 National conservatives claim they want to establish a Christian nation in the U.S. One of their policies is to implement America-first trade policies, meaning the exchange of free trade for “fair” trade. In July, Robert Lighthizer, who served as U.S. Trade Representative under President Trump, stumped for America-first trade policies at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s “American Economic Forum.” He said of free trade:

“It destroyed many of our communities, crushed our families and contributed to opioid addiction and the explosion of so called ‘deaths of despair.’ Now I am not saying that extremist free trade was the only cause of these crises, but I am saying it was a major factor.”

Before such Christian nationalists try to change the U.S., they need to read their Bibles. One of the Ten Commandments of which national conservatives are so proud is “Thou shalt not steal.” The chain of logic from that command to free trade is not so long. The command to not steal means that people must trade with others to get what they want. They must exchange their labor for the labor of others. Fraud of any kind is a form of theft. Coercion of any kind is a form of theft. What about fair trade?

Trump still off key about trade

At the recent summit held in Europe of the seven richest countries, the G-7, President Trump trashed the German trade surplus, “The Germans are bad, very bad. Look at the millions of cars that they’re selling in the USA. Horrible. We’re gonna stop that.” German newspapers translated “very bad” as “evil.” Many "reputable" financial publications, including the Wall Street Journal, sang harmony with Trump. Here is a sample of the lyrics:

Germany’s current account surplus–the amount its exports outpace its imports–recently hit 270 billion euros, close to 8.9 percent of its gross domestic product. This upward trending trade surplus shows little signs of slowing and Germany’s current account balance may rise above 9 percent of its this year. Despite years of criticism from the Obama administration and the International Monetary Fund, Germany has shown no willingness to address the persistent imbalance.

Germany’s persistent current account surpluses add to German GDP while they subtract from the GDP elsewhere around they [sic] world. Germany is not just exporting products–it is exporting stagnation, job losses, and deflation.

Germany’s trade surplus with the U.S. is particularly large and damaging. It exports high-end manufactured goods to the United States–such as cars, auto-parts, chemicals and airplanes. Cars, for instance, make up more than 10 percent of its exports to the U.S. A more balanced trade in these goods would mean many more high quality jobs in the United States in regions that badly need them.

The rich are getting richer - Baptists and bootleggers

Hillary and Bernie dusted off and hoisted aloft the old medieval standard “the rich get richer while the poor get poorer” during their primary contest. Republicans tended to respond with, “So?” During the Olympics, Hill promised to make the rich pay their fair share in her TV ads. Hill and Bernie imply that the rich have become wealthy at the expense of the rest of us, another medieval economics principle.

Attacking the wealthy always inflames envy, draws a crowd and extorts campaign contributions. That’s why politicians use it so often, as Helmut Schoeck noted in his masterpiece, Envy: A Theory of Social Behavior.

The truth is that Bernie and Hill are half right: inequality is growing. They're just wrong about the reasons. However, free marketeers do a lot of damage to the cause by ignoring the issue or denying that anything is wrong. Worse, some even defend growing inequality. 

Free trade can't help a socialist nation

Good economists, that is, free marketeers, are appalled by Republican nominee for President Donald Trump’s attacks on free trade. All of us have examined and approved David Ricardo’s theory of trade and comparative advantage. Trade is not a form of war. Exports do not enrich a nation any more than imports impoverish it. It does not matter if the trading partner isn’t playing “fair.” Trading even with a communist country will benefit the home nation.

As Mises wrote in Omnipotent Government, “...the inference from Ricardo’s free-trade argument was irrefutable. Even if all other countries cling to protection, every nation serves its own interest best by free trade. Not for the sake of foreigners but for the sake of their own nation, the liberals advocated free trade (OG 75).”