This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batchel. Ronald Reagan, president in the 20th century.

Donald Trump, president in the 21st, and trade. Compare and contrast. What do they have in common?

Right now, the word is protectionism, question mark. I welcome to writing for Civitas Institute, Civitas Outlook.

Dave Hebert, a senior research fellow at A.I.E.R. formerly a professor at Aquinas College, Troy University and Ferris State University,

and his colleague Marcus Wichcher teaching assistant professor of economic history at West Virginia

University.

Gentlemen, a very good evening to you.

Your essay is very helpful because it divides into three pieces.

The first is, was Ronald Reagan a protectionist?

This is the time of Japan Incorporated.

I believe that was a Time magazine cover.

I might misremember.

Might have been Look.

Might have been Newsweek. Japan Incorporated, said to have an advantage over the U.S. We need an industrial

policy. I remember pounding the table as they talked about that at Washington. So I begin with

you, Dave. Was Ronald Reagan a protectionist? And if he was, what kind of protectionist? Good evening to you.

Good evening to you, too, John. Thanks so much for having us tonight. So the answer to the question of

whether or not Ronald Reagan was a protectionist is a remarkably simple one. The answer is no.

Now, it is true that while he championed free trade, while he championed trade liberalization

and global affairs writ large for the American people, he did implement some measures that

at face value will look a lot like protectionism.

The Sinaquanonan would have to be the Vare, the voluntary export restraint signed by Japan in the early 1980s.

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