Reagan warns of ‘demagogues declaring trade wars’ in eerily prescient 1988 speech Source: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
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00:00Part of the difficulty in accepting the good news about trade is in our words.
00:04We too often talk about trade while using the vocabulary of war.
00:09In war, for one side to win, the other must lose.
00:12But commerce is not warfare.
00:14Trade is an economic alliance that benefits both countries.
00:18There are no losers, only winners.
00:21And trade helps strengthen the free world.
00:24Yet today, protectionism is being used by some American politicians
00:28as a cheap form of nationalism, a fig leaf for those unwilling to maintain
00:32America's military strength and who lack the resolve to stand up to real enemies,
00:38countries that would use violence against us or our allies.
00:42Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies.
00:44They are our allies.
00:46We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends,
00:51weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world.
00:56All while cynically waving the American flag.
01:00The expansion of the international economy is not a foreign invasion.
01:04It is an American triumph.