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Former US president Ronald Reagan FULL 1987 speech on tariffs and free trade | Global News | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Former US president Ronald Reagan FULL 1987 speech on tariffs and free trade
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Core Theme
The core theme is the President's commitment to free trade, emphasizing its long-term benefits for American prosperity, while addressing specific instances of unfair trade practices, such as those involving Japanese semiconductors, which necessitate targeted actions like tariffs.
My fellow Americans, Prime Minister
Nakasoni of Japan will be visiting me
here at the White House next week. It's
an important visit because while I
expect to take up our relations with our
good friend Japan, which overall remain
excellent, recent disagreements between
our two countries on the issue of trade,
will also be high on our agenda. As
perhaps you've heard last week I placed
new duties on some Japanese products in
response to Japan's inability to enforce
their trade agreement with us on
electronic devices called semiconductors.
semiconductors.
Now imposing such tariffs or trade
barriers and restrictions of any kind
are steps that I am loathed to take. And
in a moment I'll mention the sound
economic reasons for this that over the
long run such trade barriers hurt every
American worker and consumer. But the
Japanese semiconductors were a special
case. We had clear evidence that
Japanese companies were engaging in
unfair trade practices that violated an
agreement between Japan and the United
States. We expect our trading partners
to live up to their agreements. As I've
often said, our commitment to free trade
is also a commitment to fair trade. But,
you know, in imposing these tariffs, we
were just trying to deal with a
particular problem, not begin a trade
war. So next week I'll be giving Prime
Minister Nakasoni this same message. We
want to continue to work cooperatively
on trade problems and want very much to
lift these trade restrictions as soon as
evidence permits. We want to do this
because we feel both Japan and the
United States have an obligation to
promote the prosperity and economic
development that only free trade can bring.
bring.
Now, that message of free trade is one I
conveyed to Canada's leaders a few weeks
ago, and it was warmly received there.
Indeed, throughout the world, there's a
growing realization that the way to
prosperity for all nations is rejecting
protectionist legislation and promoting
fair and free competition. Now, there
are sound historical reasons for this.
For those of us who lived through the
Great Depression, the memory of the
suffering it caused is deep and searing.
And today, many economic analysts and
historians argue that high tariff
legislation passed back in that period
called the Smoot Holly tariff greatly
deepened the depression and prevented
economic recovery. You see, at first
when someone says, "Let's impose tariffs
on foreign imports. It looks like
they're doing the patriotic thing by
protecting American products and jobs."
And sometimes for a short while it
works, but only for a short time. What
eventually occurs is first homegrown
industries start relying on government
protection in the form of high tariffs.
They stop competing and stop making the
innovative management and technological
changes they need to succeed in world
markets. And then while all this is
going on, something even worse occurs.
High tariffs inevitably lead to
retaliation by foreign countries and the
triggering of fierce trade wars. The
result is more and more tariffs, higher
and higher trade barriers, and less and
less competition. So soon, because of
the prices made artificially high by
tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and
poor management, people stop buying.
Then the worst happens. Markets shrink
and collapse. Businesses and industries
shut down and millions of people lose
their jobs. The memory of all this
occurring back in the 30s made me
determined when I came to Washington to
spare the American people the
protectionist legislation that destroys
prosperity. Now, it hasn't always been
easy. There are those in the Congress,
just as there were back in the 30s, who
want to go for the quick political
advantage, who risk America's prosperity
for the sake of a short-term appeal to
some special interest group, who forget
that more than 5 million American jobs
are directly tied to the foreign export
business, and additional millions are
tied to imports.
Well, I've never forgotten those jobs.
And on trade issues, by and large, we've
done well. In certain select cases, like
the Japanese semiconductors, we've taken
steps to stop unfair practices against
American products, but we've still
maintained our basic long-term
commitment to free trade and economic
growth. So, with my meeting with Prime
Minister Nakason and the Venice Economic
Summit coming up, it's terribly
important not to restrict a president's
options in such trade dealings with
foreign governments.
Unfortunately, some in the Congress are
trying to do exactly that. I'll keep you
informed on this dangerous legislation
because it's just another form of
protectionism and I may need your help
to stop it. Remember, America's jobs and
growth are at stake. Until next week,
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