Evening star., 1955-02-27
Trode Debate

Debate on Capitol Hill over Lne
Presidents foreign trade bill has
usually centered around two battle
cries: Free trade!" and "Protec-
tion!"
The free-trade group favoring
the administration tariff-cutting
bill. wants to lower trade barriers
and thereby stimulate international
commerce. The opposition wants to
maintain the present tariffs. thereby
protecting American industries from
"sweat-shop" foreign competition.
Both groups say their policies
will strengthen this country and Will
help win the cold war.
A third point of view. little noted
but scattered through the committee
hearings, believes both free trade
and protection are beside the point;
that this country will have to adopt
yet another program if it is to help
cure the worlds trade ills.
An articulate new spokesman for
this third view. Samuel Luben, has
summed up the arguments for the
general puUllC III d OoOh PoSA4SA'~NN
last week 1.-The Revolution in
World Trade" Harper 81 Brothers..
Mr.. Lubell says the happy world
in which either free trade or pro-
lection were possible solutions to
the problem has disappeared. The
new economic world, he says, de-
mands new policies.
Alternative Policies
What these alternative policies are
can best be understood by comparing
the Lubell book with 0le written re-
Gently by the architect OF the Pres
ident's trade bill, Clarence B. RAN
dali, chairman of the Commission
on Foreign Economic Policy. The
book GA Foreign Economic Policy
for the United States, published by
the University of Chicago Press)
advocates free trade and can be as
sumed to reflect substantially the
Presidents own thinking.
Both Mr.. Lubell and Mr.. Randall
have the same ultimate goals: Sc
curity and prosperity for this coun-
try.
To achieve this goal in today's
economically distorted world, Mr..
Randall would have international
commerce rely on the principles he
believes made this country strong:
The maximum possible reliance
upon private initiative, vigorous
competition and the free market"
IF these factors have brought us
the greatest material prosperity the
world has known" Mr.. Randall says,
they should produce the same effects
if fully released in the world at
large, and thus reflect still greater
economic progress for our own coun-
try"
Key to the freedom of world trade.
according to Mr.. Randall, is the re-
duction of American tariffs. Along
with tariff cuts should go repeal of
the Buy American Act (Which gives
domestic producers an advantage in
selling to the Government) and en-
couragement of American invest
ment abroad.
IL tliSSC dIlu OO1iCL oVSpo oAS OthhSAA
to encourage sales TO this country,
Mr.. Randall says, then other coun-
tries can earn dollars and thereby
end the dollar shortage. From that
would follow an end to foreign trade
restrictions.
The result: Free world trade. The
result of free world trade: Every
country would then tend to special
ize on those lines of production
where it had the greatest compare
tive efficiency. and to import those
commodities where the highest eff
cheney and lowest cost were to be
found in other countries.
This, Mr.. Randall says. would be
the millennium. 1t is the millennium
which the Presidents trade bill aims
for in modest way.
LubelI's View
Nh Lubell, however, believes this
free-trade school is unreallStic, to
put it mildly. Nothing resembling