Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Is “freedom of trade”, whether at home or among nations, an attainable ideal? Adam Smith explains in just a few words why, alas, it is not! For reference, his explanation appears in the antepenultimate paragraph of Book IV, Chapter 2 … Continue reading →

“… though a great number of people should, by thus restoring the freedom of trade, be thrown all at once out of their ordinary employment and common method of subsistence, it would by no means follow that they would thereby … Continue reading →

We revisited Adam Smith’s fourth and final exception to free trade in my previous post. In summary, the father of economics makes a limited exception for trade barriers that are already on the books. Specifically, if the removal of such … Continue reading →

Last week, we surveyed Adam Smith’s first few exceptions to free trade, namely (i) his unconditional defense of tariffs designed to promote national security, (ii) his case for what I like to call “targeted tariffs”, i.e. duties on specific imports … Continue reading →

I am interrupting my Adam Smith series to confess that this song by Bad Bunny really resonates with me: I lived in Puerto Rico for many years (1993 to 2010), made many friends and lifelong memories along the way, and … Continue reading →

As I mentioned in a previous post, President Trump recently signed an official memorandum calling for “fair and reciprocal” trade tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners. Putting aside the constitutional question of whether the Congress can delegate this power … Continue reading →

“As there are two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry, so there are two others in which it may sometimes be a matter of deliberation ….” … Continue reading →

Adam Smith’s digression on “the necessaries of life” (his term), which occurs in paragraphs 32 to 36 of Book IV, Chapter 2 of The Wealth of Nations, presents one of his most original and compelling arguments in favor of free … Continue reading →

ADAM SMITH’S SECOND EXCEPTION TO FREE TRADE “The second case, in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry is, when some tax is imposed at home upon the produce … Continue reading →

ADAM SMITH’S FIRST EXCEPTION TO FREE TRADE “There seem, however, to be two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry.” (Wealth of Nations, IV.ii.23) As I mentioned … Continue reading →