ABSTRACT
Free trade should be a given in a free society. Nonetheless, protectionist rulings repeatedly figure prominently in trade policy.1 Quite apart from the variety of motives that give rise to such measures, and quite apart from the diversity of the economic participants so protected (18; 19), the range of protectionist instruments, here mainly non-tariff trade barriers, that have become established alongside traditional tariff policy is extraordinarily varied.2 The following discussion will first focus on the causes of protectionism. Two reasons in particular may be mentioned as to why protectionist measures are promoted and resorted to by politicians time and again, despite their freedom-restricting properties: first, politicians’ general ignorance regarding the interactions of the market order and the impact of trade protection (20.1); and second, the existence of special interest groups (20.2). In the first case, politicians believe in the beneficial effect of protectionist measures, while in the second case they are forced to use them in spite of their own convictions. And finally, we outline possible approaches to overcoming protectionism (20.3).
