Tariffs vs. Free Trade

Economists have agreed on free trade for two centuries; the public and the politicians haven’t caught up. Lucas Engelhardt rebuilds the case from scratch—mutual benefit, comparative advantage, and the simple point that drawing a border between two traders destroys none of the gains—then takes apart the arguments for tariffs one by one. Most timely is his treatment of trade deficits: following Mises, he shows a deficit isn’t a “loss” but the natural result of Americans choosing goods over cash, and explains why “Liberation Day” tariffs actually made the deficit spike.

Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on July 21, 2026.

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