U.S. Trade and Friedrich List

Abstract

Abstract The free-trade policy that has been dominant since the late 1960s has been criticized from across the political spectrum. Policymakers are starting to turn against the idea that the government can and should do nothing about trade. This article examines U.S. trade policy from the perspective of Friedrich List’s work The National System of Political Economy and argues that it is time for the U.S. to reexamine how trade has been conducted for the last 40 years.