There was plenty of bad news for freedom in the U.S. last year, tempered with bits of good news. Others are offering broad assessments, but I would like to follow up on my article of July 23, 2011, “U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement,” and note the positive news on trade.
In the prior piece, I discussed attending an event in Newton, Massachusetts, sponsored by the Korean Consulate for the New England region. The purpose of the event was to encourage continued support for approval by Congress of the free trade agreement (FTA). The U.S. government ratified the FTAs with Korea, Colombia, and Panama in October, while, unfortunately, renewing the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.
Korea’s National Assembly approved the FTA with the U.S. in November. The governments of Colombia and Panama had previously ratified the respective FTAs.
Daniel Griswold of the Cato Institute, in his December 30, 2011, article, “Our Freedom to Trade Expanded in 2011,” explains, “When fully implemented, these FTAs will eliminate just about all barriers to trade with three key allies.”
Mr. Griswold discusses additional progress that was made, and concludes:
Our freedom to trade remains less than it should be. The U.S. government continues to impose an array of barriers on trade and investment, including quotas on imported sugar, regressive tariffs on shoes and clothing, unfair and economically damaging anti-dumping duties, and restrictions on foreign investment in media, inter-coastal shipping, and air travel (all of which I describe in Chapter 9 of my 2009 book Mad about Trade). But those can all be resolutions for 2012.
For now, let all of us who favor economic liberty and limited government take due satisfaction in the welcome expansion of our freedom to engage in commerce with our fellow human beings.
Korea-U.S. Trade Partnership Event Held in December
I was honored to be able to attend the Korea-U.S. Trade Partnership event held on December 15th, again in Newton. It was a pleasure to see friends from the Consulate, including Consul Eun-chul Lee. I also enjoyed meeting dignitaries from the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C.; Dr. Chul Chung, Chief Economist of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA); and members of the Korean-American community of New England.
The purpose of the event was to celebrate the ratification of the FTA and to learn about ideas for members of the Korean-American community across the U.S. to continue to work together. The opportunities include engaging in social and business networking, supporting free trade, encouraging cooperation between people in Korea and the U.S., and fostering interest in Korean culture and traditions.
In socializing with the Koreans and Korean-Americans at the gathering, I was reminded yet again of the value, not only of free trade, but also liberal immigration. Immigrants enrich our economy and our culture, and should be welcomed and embraced.
Korea-U.S. Trade Partnership: Event in Newton, Massachusetts, on December 15, 2011
Free Trade
Governments and media typically focus on the economic benefits of exports, indulging the mercantilist fallacy. Free trade increases exports, but it also gives consumers and manufacturers access to lower cost goods, commodities, and services. The savings can be invested in creating or expanding businesses.
Freedom is its own virtue, and economic freedom, like immigration, should not have to be justified by the benefits it brings. Nonetheless, free trade not only leads to prosperity and improved living standards, but also promotes peace and encourages business, personal, and civic cooperation among people of different lands.
Conclusion
As Mr. Griswold observed, 2011 brought us greater trade freedom, and there is more work to be done. The goal should be for people of all countries to be able to freely trade with one another.
In the draft Preface to his Economic Harmonies (1850), Frédéric Bastiat, using the rhetorical device of arguing with himself, spoke of the importance of pursuing free trade:
Like you I love all forms of freedom; and among these, the one that is the most universally useful to mankind, the one you enjoy at each moment of the day and in all of life’s circumstances, is the freedom to work and to trade. … I approve of your devoting yourself to the defense of this freedom whose triumph will inevitably usher in the reign of international justice and consequently the extinction of hatred, prejudices between one people and another, and the wars that come in their wake.
Freedom of trade gives us a better, more prosperous, and more peaceful world. Its triumph may never be complete, and its hold never permanent, since there are always enemies of freedom. But, like Bastiat, we should devote ourselves to its pursuit.
