Libertarian FAQ: Are people better off with free trade than with tariffs?

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This article is from the Libertarian FAQ, by Joe Dehn jwd3@dehnbase.fidonet.org, Robert Bickford rab.AT.daft.com, Mike Huben mhuben@world.std.com and Advocates for Self-Government http://www.self-gov.org/ with numerous contributions by others.

60 Libertarian FAQ: Are people better off with free trade than with tariffs?

Free trade provides consumers with better goods at lower prices. Trade
restrictions produce the opposite: shoddy goods and higher prices.

With free trade, consumers pay lower prices for products and thereby
have more money left to spend on other goods, domestic as well as
foreign.

Free trade also helps the cause of world peace. In the 1920's and
30's, trade barriers went up everywhere, directly contributing to the
outbreak of World War II. If goods don't cross borders, armies will.

Let's end all trade restrictions and free the world's resources to be
allocated in the most efficient and productive manner. [3]

[3] "The Liberator," Spring 1992, pp. 18-19, Advocates for Self-
Government, 3955 Pleasantdale Road, No. 106-A, Atlanta, GA 30340,
(800)932-1776.