Show: 019 Top Priority Podcast | Free Trade and the World Trade Organization

Date Recorded: January 28, 2020

Host: Duane Lester, Manager of Issue Education, Grassroots Leadership Academy 

Guests: Dan Pearson, Trade Policy Fellow, Americans for Prosperity

Show Notes & Timestamps

• What is the history of the World Trade Organization (WTO)? min [1:00]
• What was the world like before the WTO? What is mercantilism? min [5:22]
• Adam Smith pushed back again Mercantilism with his book The Wealth of Nations. min [6:41] 
• The Wealth of Nations can be summarized into three main themes:

1. Trade, when voluntarily initiated, benefits both parties, not just the exporter.
2. Specialization allows for economies of scale and promotes economic growth.
3. Collusion between government and business is harmful to the general population.

• Did the American Founders favor protectionist tariffs? min [11:05] 
• The two functions of the WTO: min [30:05] 

1. Negotiations
2. Dispute settlements 

**Additional Resource**

• FREE copy of The Law by Frederic Bastiat
• Clashing Over Commerce by Doug Irwin
• The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
• On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation by David Ricardo