Tariffs mean you pay more for worse products
Even if America could make as much coffee as Colombia, it wouldn’t be nearly as flavorful.
Free-traders wield two familiar argument against protectionism. First, they point to higher prices—tariffs make protected items more expensive. Second, they invoke Frederic Bastiat’s principle of the “unseen"—protecting jobs in one industry comes at the cost of destroying jobs elsewhere, often in higher-paying and more innovative sectors.
Both arguments are compelling. But there’s a third one that they often overlook, perhaps because it’s harder to quantify than higher prices or faltering economic growth. When protectionists wall off foreign competition, buyers are bound to get stuck with shoddy goods.
Why do higher trade barriers result in lower quality? For the same reason DIY haircuts make for cringeworthy yearbook photos and DIY repairs can morph into costly nightmares: Quality suffers when we substitute self-reliance and hubris for the genuine expertise of others.
In everyday life, we embrace the reality that different people have different talents and abilities. Most Americans readily accept that they don’t have Paul McCartney’s knack for music or Shohei Ohtani’s skill with a bat. That doesn’t stop us from enjoying “Abbey Road" or gaping at towering home runs. As Beatles and Dodgers fans can attest, our lives would be poorer if we deprived ourselves of these top-notch foreign talents. Home-grown products like the Beach Boys and Freddie Freeman are fine substitutes, but we can’t expect them to write “Let It Be" or launch a 500-foot bomb right after striking out the side with 102 mph fastballs. Having access to world-class talent is a blessing that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Free traders might apply this insight to all aspects of foreign trade. Like individuals, different nations have unique strengths and abilities. Some stem from built-in factors—think Colombia’s climate, Hong Kong’s deep harbors, Saudi Arabia’s oil. Others come from painstakingly acquired skills forged through generations of experience—think Swiss watchmaking, Scotch whisky-making, German engineering. Together, these factors determine what different nations excel at producing.
Alas, like Mr. McCartney’s harmony or Mr. Ohtani’s power, none of these strengths are easy to copy. Natural resources can’t be teleported into our lands. Climate and culture can’t be stuffed in a crate and shipped to our shores. This reality illustrates why protectionism is a time-tested method for eroding quality.
Suppose President Trump imposes steep tariffs on Colombian coffee. Even if American farmers could ramp up coffee production by 10,000%, they’d never be able to replicate Colombia’s perfect blend of coffee-making ingredients—its subtropical climate, volcanic soil, steady rainfall and high-altitude mountains. In the end, we wouldn’t merely pay more for coffee. We’d pay more for worse coffee.
The same logic applies to Mexican avocados, Italian suits, French wine and countless other imports. World-class quality is easy to take for granted, but virtually impossible to replace.
Fortunately, we don’t have to settle for mediocrity. The beauty of specialization and trade is that we don’t have to be the best at everything to enjoy the world’s best-quality products.
Free traders ought to deploy this quality argument more forcefully when discussing the perils of protectionism. Quality matters to an economy in ways that price and employment statistics can’t capture. When parents can’t afford to buy their kids top-tier educational products due to tariffs, families suffer. When engineers can’t use the world’s best technology, innovation suffers. When consumers settle for second-rate knock-offs, everyone suffers.
Protectionism also rots the will to build. Insulated from foreign competition, protected industries have less incentive to innovate and improve. Why strive for excellence when you can lobby politicians for protection at a fraction of the cost?
It’s no coincidence that the world’s most protected economies are also its most anemic. The Soviet Union sealed itself behind iron walls, both political and economic. Surprise, surprise, it was hardly a fount of innovation. The atrophy from this self-inflicted withdrawal still plagues Russia to this day.
Protectionists may object that the quality of many domestic goods has improved over time. American beer has made great strides toward catching up to European brew. Fair enough. But their argument proves too much. Most brewmasters will tell you this improvement was spurred by foreign competition, not protectionist pampering. Foreign brewers pushed Americans to raise their game. This highlights another crucial aspect of the quality argument. Trade doesn’t merely give us access to top-notch foreign goods. It ensures the quality of our domestic goods keeps improving.
In a nutshell, protectionists brag of strength, but they sap it. True strength is the power to make world-class goods. Tariffs snuff that out.
The key to a strong economy is in letting markets, not politicians, determine where excellence lies. Free trade gives us access to the best the world has to offer. Protectionism forces us to settle for less. In a globally competitive economy, that’s a luxury no nation can afford.
Mr. Burns is an associate professor of economics at Southeastern Louisiana University. Mr. Fuller is an associate professor of economics at Grove City College.
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