Tariffs are taxes on imported goods and services. Internationalists believe that it is obvious that ‘free’ trade for international trading companies and no tariffs are beneficial to the UK economy. Nationalists believe that the UK can have an independent economy that only requires a relatively small amount of foreign trade and should impose tariffs as necessary.
Tariffs are essentially an admission that we have, rather pathetically, no Ricardian comparative advantage left. They just put up the cost of imports which are, by definition, things we either can't produce ourselves or can't produce at a cost acceptable to the consumer.
In an economically 'ideal' world you are, of course, right. There are four main problems, the first is transition as the global economy develops, the second is strategic industries , the third is cultural and the fourth is cheating.
We are currently in a period of transition where there are numerous countries able to supply cheap labour and willing to have their resources plundered. It is wrong to expect our own population to have a big dip in prosperity as they obtain the same gdp per capita as us over the coming decades.
Strategic industries are an obvious point. The world is a dangerous place and to allow the termination of microelectronics and steel production because other countries produce cheaper is waving a white flag.
The cultural point is about factors such as employment protection, childcare, pensions etc. If other countries have different levels of such provision they can beat us on prices if there are no social tariffs.
The cheating point is evident with the valuation of the Yuan. PPP considerations show it is c.40-80% undervalued. This is equivalent to a 40-80% tariff on imports. There are many other ways to cheat - Japan used to insist all cars were imported through one small port.
In other words if you want a secure, independent, prosperous country modulating tariffs is essential. BTW, an economically 'ideal' world is the opposite of an ideal world. An ideal world has a diversity of nation states with different cultures and races.
For a historical example of ascendancy of "free trade" in British history, one can look to the imperial 19th century, where free trade was used to make inroads for the burgeoning British industry and for a counterpart in the US, where a tariff regume and internal growth led to US development as a world power by 1900.
As you rightly said, the current discourse is bought and paid for.
If the UK had 30% of the largest corporations in the world and, although mostly UK based they were selling globally, then I would recommend the UK to impose Free Trade on other nations and itself. Unfortunately the 19th century has passed.
Tariffs are essentially an admission that we have, rather pathetically, no Ricardian comparative advantage left. They just put up the cost of imports which are, by definition, things we either can't produce ourselves or can't produce at a cost acceptable to the consumer.
In an economically 'ideal' world you are, of course, right. There are four main problems, the first is transition as the global economy develops, the second is strategic industries , the third is cultural and the fourth is cheating.
We are currently in a period of transition where there are numerous countries able to supply cheap labour and willing to have their resources plundered. It is wrong to expect our own population to have a big dip in prosperity as they obtain the same gdp per capita as us over the coming decades.
Strategic industries are an obvious point. The world is a dangerous place and to allow the termination of microelectronics and steel production because other countries produce cheaper is waving a white flag.
The cultural point is about factors such as employment protection, childcare, pensions etc. If other countries have different levels of such provision they can beat us on prices if there are no social tariffs.
The cheating point is evident with the valuation of the Yuan. PPP considerations show it is c.40-80% undervalued. This is equivalent to a 40-80% tariff on imports. There are many other ways to cheat - Japan used to insist all cars were imported through one small port.
In other words if you want a secure, independent, prosperous country modulating tariffs is essential. BTW, an economically 'ideal' world is the opposite of an ideal world. An ideal world has a diversity of nation states with different cultures and races.
For a historical example of ascendancy of "free trade" in British history, one can look to the imperial 19th century, where free trade was used to make inroads for the burgeoning British industry and for a counterpart in the US, where a tariff regume and internal growth led to US development as a world power by 1900.
As you rightly said, the current discourse is bought and paid for.
If the UK had 30% of the largest corporations in the world and, although mostly UK based they were selling globally, then I would recommend the UK to impose Free Trade on other nations and itself. Unfortunately the 19th century has passed.