The rising protectionist sentiment threatens the consumer's right to choose among competing goods and services. This basic right, along with such civil rights as freedom of speech and religion, must be defended or else the government becomes a threat to all individual liberties. Protectionism takes several forms, all of which violate consumer freedom of choice.
Tariffs are the most frequently cited example.
In an effort to save Harley-Davidson, the U.S. recently raised the duty on foreign motorcycles from 4.4 per cent to 49.4 per cent. Along with tariffs, protectionist policies have grown to include import quotas on foreign goods and government subsidies to U.S. industries. Other forms of protection include regulations and standards on foreign imports, and government procurement policies which favor the purchase of domestic products. Protectionism has its roots in the mercantilist period of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Mercantilist legislation was based on the theory that a nation gains wealth only by exporting its products.