Smoot-Hawley-Obama — Behind Blue Lines

Smoot-Hawley-Obama — Behind Blue Lines:

As I write this, the administration’s approved a tariff on imported Chinese tires – a gift to the steelworkers union – over the pleas of national trade associations afraid of protectionism in a severe recession. Naturally, the Chinese are unhappy and it remains to be seen whether they’ll retaliate. When we consider the evil effects of protectionism, it’s instructive to consider the lessons of the past – apparently unlearned in the present – like the run-up to the Great Depression."