RE: Trade Restrictions Don't Make Sense: Importers And Exporters Are The Same People
Great post. The argument against free trade is that other countries are not giving the US exporters the same access to their markets that the US gives to them. This is usually offset by a countervailing duty or tariff. You are right that free trade benefits all countries because it increases total welfare through lower prices for consumers abeit at the expense of the industries which lose jobs due to lack of comparative advantage.
This is one of the great features of cryptocurrency is that it cuts out the regulatory agencies which want to politicize the market place and extract value to perpetuate bureaucracy. Although free trade is better, some government will get in the way. This is why the wto was established from gaat. Now that seems to be in peril due to the lack of enforcement of intellectual property rights. One country can't promote free trade while another has the doors locked even though economic theory shows it benefits all countries. The best solution is to have your own free trade with cryptocurrency, gold, and silver ...the parallel economy.
Excellent point re: cryptocurrencies tearing down barriers ...that's the ultimate goal and with the birth of bitcoin we can already do that in the digital world; hopefully the physical goods world can catch up.
I agree that other countries restricting U.S. imports (exports from the U.S.) is an issue our politicians should be tackling relentlessly...it would be one of the useful things they could do! Oddly, though, all the political rhetoric goes towards taxing U.S. consumers and restricting their choices, not towards the obvious of incentivizing other countries to permit freer trade. Extorting U.S. customers is not a moral or an effective solution to further opening trade...