Robert Lighthizer

Public Servant

1947-10-11

Quotes by Robert Lighthizer

• Conservative statesmen from Alexander Hamilton to Ronald Reagan sometimes supported protectionism, and at other times, they leaned toward lowering barriers. But they always understood that trade policy was merely a tool for building a strong and independent country with a prosperous middle class.

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• While never the darling of pure free traders, measures to combat dumping, subsidies, and injurious import surges have always been deemed essential by open economies like the United States to maintain support for trade.

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• Years of passivity and drift among U.S. policymakers have allowed the U.S. - China trade deficit to grow to the point where is widely recognized as a major threat to our economy.

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• Markets do not run better when manufacturing shifts to China largely because of the actions of its government. Nor do they become more efficient when Chinese companies are given special privileges in global markets, while American companies must struggle to compete with unfairly traded goods.

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• Modern free-traders... embrace their ideal with a passion that makes Robespierre seem prudent. They embrace unbridled free trade, even as it helps China become a superpower.

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• Unlike national legal systems, there are precious few avenues to address judicial activism at the WTO. You pretty much have to gain consensus to change the agreements, or simply withdraw from the system. The first is nearly impossible, and the second would be - in the view of many - cataclysmic.

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