Ariel Dillon of the Independent Institute on Bush's Steel Tariffs Not the First Instance of Hypocrisy on Free Trade:
Now that the World Trade Organization has rejected the U.S. appeal to preserve steel tariffs and Washington is confronted with $2.2 billion in retaliatory tariffs from the European Union, the administration and its supporters need to face up to an unpleasant fact. The steel imbroglio is just the latest of several instances where the U.S. has talked free trade but practiced protectionism – most notably here in our own hemisphere.
Exactly. But don't expect many conservatives to admit such. That would require a moral fiber sorely lacking in both major parties. How any conservative can support protectionism in the market place, while decrying social engineering by liberals out of the other side of their mouth is beyond me. And yet still they do it.
Protectionist tariffs and public subsidies for farmers have been a long-standing racket in this nation. The subsidies are good for votes in rural districts, like the one I grew up in. But it is a violation of the individual rights of American men and women to purchase what they want, from where they want, at a price they volunteer to pay. It keeps stagnant businesses in operation longer than they should be, creating a strain on the taxpayers who have to fund such subsidies or pay higher prices for goods. It isn't social engineering, but it ain't any better.