One sometimes gets the impression that President Bush is running a protectionist administration and turning his back on decades of free-trade policies.(The Week)(Brief Article)

* One sometimes gets the impression that President Bush is running a protectionist administration and turning his back on decades of free-trade policies. That impression is incorrect. Administrations of both parties have for years pursued free trade as a general goal while also appeasing selected industries seeking protectionist favors. Such favors invariably impose a net cost on the economy. But since the costs are diffused while the benefits are concentrated, the beneficiaries have a greater incentive to organize politically to keep the favors coming. The steel tariffs that Bush imposed in 2002 conformed to the rule: Any help they gave to steelmakers was more than offset by the damage they did to companies that use steel. The difference this ...