One of the major conservative criticisms of the communism of the Soviet Union was its centrally-planned economy that eschewed the free market, entrepreneurship, and private property and destroyed the work ethic, misallocated resources, and resulted in chronic shortages.
Since the advent of Donald Trump in 2016, and especially in 2024, many conservative individuals and organizations have begun denouncing free trade and advocating protectionism. And not just protectionism, but Trumpism: a unilateral, incoherent, arbitrary, destructive, nationalistic, mercantilist trade policy.
It used to be that conservative opponents of free trade would claim that they were merely making a distinction between free trade and government-managed trade agreements or the “free trade agenda.” Many of them are now “out of the closet,” full throttle, protectionists who cheer every percentage increase in tariff rates on every country that is decreed by President Trump.
But when conservatives are applauding import quotas, anti-dumping laws, trade barriers, increased trade regulations, and higher tariff rates, they are really just applauding Soviet-style central planning.
An army of government bureaucrats must determine what trade barriers should be erected, what the trade deficit is with every country, which industries need to be protected, which industries are “infant industries,” how long industry protection should last, which countries goods should be subject to tariffs, which particular items should be subject to tariffs, what the optimal tariff rates on each item should be, which particular items should be subject to quotas, what quantity the quota should be set at, the price at which dumping occurs, which countries should be given preferential treatment, and what exemptions should be given to which countries for which goods.
All of these things presuppose that government bureaucrats (or worse, Trump himself) are capable of calculating the “right” or “best” or “just” or “fair” price of tens of thousands of imported goods.
To see how ridiculous and centrally planned U.S. trade policy is, just look at the sugar quota import program. According to a U.S. Custom and Border Protection “Fact Sheet”:
Sugar is the largest imported agricultural commodity subject to quota. Sugar, in the Sucrose form (Fructose and Glucose- a disaccharide) is the only sugar subject to quota. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) establishes the annual Eligibility and quota limits; The United States Trade Representative (USTR) allocates the country quantitative limits; and U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), through the Office of Trade’s Quota Branch, implements the sugar quotas.
For raw sugar, “the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) numbers are 1701.13.1000, 1701.14.1020 and 1701.14.1040, and require a Certificate of Quota Eligibility (CQE) for the in-quota tariff rate.”
For refined sugar, “the HTSUS numbers are 1701.12.1000, 1701.91.1000, 1701.99.1015, 1701.99.1017, 1701.99.1025, 1701.99.1050, 1702.90.1000 and 2106.90.4400. When refined sugar is classified as Global Refined Sugar (HTSUS 9903.17.01), it does not require a CQE for the in-quota rate. When refined sugar is classified as Canadian Refined Sugar (HTSUS 9903.18.01), it does require a CQE for the in-quota rate.”
For specialty Sugar, “the HTSUS numbers are 1701.12.1000, 1701.91.1000, 1701.99.1015, 1701.99.1017, 1702.90.1000 and 2106.90.4400, and require a USDA Specialty Certificate to qualify for the in-quota rate. There are multiple Specialty Sugar openings annually called Tranches.”
And all of this was in place before Trump launched his trade war.
President Trump’s trade policy is not just guided by horrifically bad theory; it is rarely guided by any coherent theory at all. His attempt to institute a centrally planned trade policy is made even worse because it is so arbitrary. Conservatives who actually believe their mantra about the Constitution, the free market, individual freedom, private property, free enterprise, and limited government should call Trump’s trade policy what it is: incoherent, arbitrary, Soviet-style central planning.
