GOP Trade Platform Would Penalize Forgotten Americans

The recently approved Republican platform is dedicated to the forgotten men and women of America. This dedication refers to William Graham Sumner's "forgotten man" lecture, which defended the interests of forgotten Americans harmed by protectionist trade policies and similar measures.

Unfortunately, the GOP platform's trade proposals would inflict massive pain on forgotten Americans.

It pledges to protect American farmers from unfair trade, but it proposes new broad-based tariffs that would wipe out farmers' export markets. According to the Department of Agriculture, US tariffs imposed in 2018 led to retaliatory tariffs on exports that cost our farmers more than $27 billion through 2019.

The GOP platform proposes to rescind "normal" trade treatment for Chinese imports, but this proposal was flawed when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed it, and it remains flawed today. It would result in a 70 percent tariff on toys supplied by China and a 59 percent tariff on shoes and clothing supplied by China. Princess dolls and underwear do not threaten US national security.

While it is primarily concerned about China, the platform also calls for the imposition of new baseline tariffs on our friends and allies. These tariffs would increase costs at a time when inflation and the high cost of living are Americans' top concerns. We should be working more closely with our allies to counter China and strengthen supply chains, not driving them away through a protectionist trade policy.

The platform promises to rebalance trade, but trade is already balanced. During the first quarter of 2024, Americans sent about $1.7 trillion abroad, and we received $1.7 trillion in foreign payments. Protectionists want to ignore the $500 billion in foreign investment received so far this year, or even worse, they view foreign investment as a cost. Try telling that to the 2.2 million American manufacturing workers who are employed by foreign-based companies and who account for nearly 18 percent of our manufacturing workforce.

The GOP platform calls for new Buy American restrictions, but this is just warmed-over Bidenomics. The Peterson Institute calculates that Buy American measures cost US taxpayers $94 billion in 2017. Buy American policies also hurt US exporters when foreign countries inevitably retaliate by imposing "Don't Buy American" requirements of their own.

The platform pledges to restore American manufacturing, but American manufacturing does not need to be restored. In 2023, real manufacturing output hit an all-time high. Manufacturing output can grow even higher if the government removes import barriers that restrict inputs used by American firms to compete in the global economy.

The GOP calls for economic self-reliance, but this is a recipe for economic disaster. It makes no sense to restrict American families' ability to buy infant formula from Europe or to limit investment in manufacturing by investors based in Japan. Self-reliance is the policy of North Korea. It should not be the policy of the United States.

The platform asserts that tariffs on foreign producers could reduce US taxes, but tariffs are taxes on Americans, not foreigners.

These planks represent a reversal of the trade policies advocated by Republicans ever since the end of World War II. They are an effort to replace the successful policies of Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan with the failed policies of Peter Navarro and Robert Lighthizer. For example, the Republican Party's 1984 platform explicitly reiterated the party's commitment to a free and open international trading system. That platform was associated with President Reagan winning the highest number of electoral votes in American history. Leaders in both parties should embrace this commitment to free and open trade.