USA Today had a great story about President Bush�s visit to a Harley-Davidson factor in York, Pennsylvania to tout the merits of �free-trade.� The reason why the story was so great is that the plant is in fact a testament to the effective use of protectionist policies to sustain a favored industry. Don�t take my word for it, here�s the beginning of a 1983 article in the New York Times describing President Reagan�s decision to impose tariffs on imported motorcycles: �In an unusually strong protectionist action, President Reagan today ordered a tenfold increase in tariffs for imported heavyweight motorcycles. The impact of Mr. Reagan's action, which followed the unanimous recommendation of his trade advisers, is effectively limited to Japanese manufacturers, which dominate every sector of the American motorcycle market. The action was exceptional for protecting a single American company, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company of Milwaukee, the sole surviving American maker of motorcycles ("U.S. Raises Tariff for Motorcylces," 4-2-83:A1).� So now this successful protectionist measure is touted as a testament to the merits of �free-trade.� Anyone got any Iraqi WMDs? Thanks to Peter Hart from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) for the tip.
--Dean Baker
