Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
Suppose the U.S. Constitution mandated unilateral free trade with no exceptions. Much could go wrong. A pessimist could fairly ask all of the following: 1. What if other countries take advantage of our unilateralism to drastically raise their tariffs? 2. What if other countries strategically predate on our critical industries, leaving us vulnerable in a major crisis? 3. What if hostile countries buy and stockpile strategic resources from us, then get really hostile? 4. What if some unforeseen trade issue, an ‘unknown unknown,’ arises, and our leaders are unable to respond because the Constitution ties their hands? … When push comes to shove, the defender of unilateral free trade has no response better than, ‘Tough luck.’ Unconvincing, but as I’ve explained before, ‘Tough luck’ is what every conceivable social system tells you in the end …” (04/23/25)