This is from the Todd Tucker progressive trade policy vision that I mentioned in the last post:
... The benefits of international cooperation on fighting tax evasion, monopoly power, unstable financial markets, climate change, and macroeconomic imbalances from misaligned currencies far outstrip even the most optimistic projections for agreements like the TPP. In a policy environment where tariffs are low, the gains from further tariff liberalization are limited. ...
...
Since World War II, governments around the world have worked to construct frameworks for international cooperation around trade—with mixed success. This agenda started off with a focus on tariff reduction, which has been enormously successful. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), average tariffs were between 20 and 30 percent at the end of the war, and down to 4 percent by 2009. ...
I think this description of tariffs is misleading. For a full picture of current tariff levels, check out the World Tariff Profiles annual report. Scroll through by sector (agriculture is always fun) and country, and you will see that there are lots of really high tariffs out there, and there are substantial gains to be realized from reducing them.
So, I question Todd's argument that "the gains from further tariff liberalization are limited." I understand that tariffs can be a boring issue for both lawyers and economists. There aren't many interesting theoretical issues there. But good policy doesn't always have to be exciting.
