History suggests protectionism has many more failures than successes.

How Economic Nationalism Bites Back

By Edward Tenner
Tariff-protected industries lose their incentive to compete.
Does protectionism work? In the late 19th century, British writers were as concerned about loss of markets and jobs to Germany as many Americans are today about competition from China. The campaign against rising Germany shows that economic nationalism can have unintended consequences.

One of that campaign’s most striking failures, now largely forgotten, was recently recalled by the German weekly Die Zeit on the 125th anniversary of the notorious “Made in Germany” campaign.

Ever since Bismarck’s German coalition defeated France and established a newly unified nation, Germany had a reputation for cheap mass manufacturing and aggressive pricing. At the time, Britain was not only Germany’s biggest trading partner but, in German eyes, the superpower with which the new Reich had to achieve parity.

For all the prestige of French civilization, Britannia still ruled for many continental Europeans. The new Reich’s unofficial national anthem, “Heil dir im Siegerkranz” was set to the melody of “God Save the Queen.”

.....................

Read more: www.american.com