Free Trade

"Everything will change. Everything has changed."
--General Charles Cornwallis (The Patriot)

Two hundred and forty years ago today the Continental Congress opens all US ports to international trade. Prior to that, port access was regulated by England.

Today, few understand that primary motivation behind the Boston Tea Party was trade restriction.

It is appropriate here to insert a friendly reminder that trade agreements such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) are not free trade agreements at all because they are restricted to a particular bloc of countries and by what can be traded and how.

Free trade agreements are oxymorons. True free trade needs no 'agreement.' It is the natural tendency of individuals to trade with each other to better their circumstances. No document signed by bureaucrats is necessary.