Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“Weaponization is what governments do when they intervene in the affairs of others. Not only do they weaponize trade against foreign rulers, but tariffs and other trade barriers are a weapon for a government to favor some domestic producers against domestic consumers, as well as against other domestic producers. The conflict over exports marks a return to the 17th and 18th centuries. National governments frequently restricted not only foreign imports but also foreign exports. … As economists have quipped, protectionism is what we do to ourselves that is done by foreign enemies in time of war. Of course, the ‘what we do to ourselves’ must be read as ‘what some of us do to others among us.'” (06/15/25)