Following his re-election as President of the United States, Donald Trump has stoked a global trade war. Trump is a classical protectionist, enamoured with the view that trade is a zero-sum game.  Trump claims America is losing from trade and it’s time to start winning again. Although as Pyrrhus of Epirus once said, “Another such victory … and we are undone” 

Free trade vs protectionism is one of the oldest fights in Australian political history, with its roots in the 19th century. Australia’s transformation from an isolationist, protectionist backwater to a prosperous and open society is one of the great achievements of the golden age of reform.  

Unfortunately for classical liberals, the support for free trade has always been very fragile. Many conservatives feel that Australia should protect its own jobs at the expense of foreign firms. Progressives have long favoured ‘fair trade’ i.e. a rigged game where one party wins and the other loses. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton both expressed opposition to free trade during their presidential campaigns.  

How then can we protect the gains from those who want to sacrifice them to protect jobs.