Trump says he will cancel trade agreements on his first day
in office as his anti-trade approach to bring back jobs rhetoric is supported
by his voters.
We live in interesting times as the Republican party has
been pro trade and anti trade restriction since Ronald Reagan was President. We will
see how this issue plays out as the interests of the business wing of the Republican
party are at odds with Trump and his voters who believe he will bring back jobs
through trade restrictions. His voters are likely to be disappointed.
In reading the research, I find no credible evidence that significant
job growth will be created by trade restrictions and barriers. The research I
am referring to leans Republican. I also looked at the evidence on this topic from
multiple points of view. Trump's argument on this topic appears to be the least
credible I can find.
For folks who lean right that are interested in learning
more about free trade and jobs, I would recommend the most well known Republican
leaning think tanks, The CATO Institute (CATO) and The Heritage Foundation
(Heritage). These organizations extensively cover this topic and have published
Republican leaning pro trade arguments and research for years.
It will be interesting to see how the battle plays out
within the Republican party.
For folks who would like to go beyond CATO and Heritage on
this topic, feel free to reach out to me.
