Notable Quotable: Reagan On Imposing Tariffs

In today’s Notable Quotable, we provide an excerpt from a radio address delivered by President Ronald Reagan to the nation on free and fair trade.

During his full address, Reagan recalled that the tariff legislation passed much earlier in the century had caused deep suffering during the depression and prevented economic recovery. He argued that over the long run trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer, and emphasized the growing realization throughout the world that the way to prosperity for all nations is in rejecting protectionist legislation and negotiating fair and free trade competition instead.

President Ronald Reagan’s Radio Address To The Nation On Free And Fair Trade

April 25, 1987

EXCERPT:

You see, at first, when someone says, “Let's impose tariffs on foreign imports,” it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works -- but only for a short time. What eventually occurs is: First, homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then, while all this is going on, something even worse occurs. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition. So, soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.

The memory of all this occurring back in the thirties made me determined when I came to Washington to spare the American people the protectionist legislation that destroys prosperity. Now, it hasn't always been easy. There are those in this Congress, just as there were back in the thirties, who want to go for the quick political advantage, who will risk America's prosperity for the sake of a short-term appeal to some special interest group, who forget that more than 5 million American jobs are directly tied to the foreign export business and additional millions are tied to imports. Well, I've never forgotten those jobs.