The argument against Trade barriers…

….is an old one, but beautifully articulated in this recording by the late President Ronald Reagan.

Whilst both Obama and Reagan faced a severe recession early in their administration, they didn’t come out of it by setting up trade barriers but by supporting free, competitive trade. The result was that the unemployment rate fell from 7% in 1980, to 5% in 1988. The inflation rate declined from 10% in 1980 to 4% in 1988.[7]

Some economists have stated that Reagan's policies were an important part of bringing about the third longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history. During the Reagan administration, real GDP growth averaged 3.5%, compared to 2.9% during the preceding eight years. The annual average unemployment rate declined by 1.7 percentage points, from 7.2% in 1980 to 5.5% in 1988, after it had increased by 1.6 percentage points over the preceding eight years.

Hear it from the man himself……..