If imports are restricted, employment in the protected industries may be higher with protection than without it. But foreigners would have less to spend on U.S. exports, and employment in other export industries could fall. In 1988, for example, the average tariff on clothing was 18.4 percent, and the share of income spent on clothing by those with the lowest incomes was more than twice the share spent by those with the highest incomes. The next myth is that the United States should restrict imports to protect its economy from subsidies foreign governments pay to their producers that enable them sell to to the United States below cost. This protection, though, is unnecessary.
Some governments undoubtedly do subsidize their exporters.
But they must tax their citizens to pay for those subsidies, while U.S. consumers pay prices that are lower than they otherwise would be. A related myth is that because other countries impose trade barriers, the United States must also impose them. The benefits of free trade, however, are relatively independent of other countries' actions. In 1846 Great Britain unilaterally repealed its Corn Laws. Critics contended that imported grains would depress Britain's economy.