Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Economists have agreed on free trade for two centuries; the public and the politicians haven't caught up. Lucas Engelhardt rebuilds the case from scratch—mutual benefit, comparative advantage, and the simple point that drawing a border between two traders destroys none of the gains—then takes apart the arguments for tariffs one by one. Most timely is his treatment of trade deficits: following Mises, he shows a deficit isn't a "loss" but the natural result of Americans choosing goods over cash, and explains why "Liberation Day" tariffs actually made the deficit spike.
Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on July 21, 2026.
Mises University is the world's leading instructional program in the Austrian School of economics, and is the essential training ground for economists who are looking beyond the mainstream.
0:00 Intro: Tariffs vs. Free Trade
1:24 Defining Tariffs and Why Countries Use Them
5:14 A Bad Argument for Free Trade
8:04 The Case for Free Trade: Mutual Benefit, Comparative Advantage, and Peace
15:27 The Balance of Trade Argument
20:08 Why Trade Deficits Aren't Losses
24:03 Protecting Domestic Workers
28:54 The Infant Industry Argument
32:29 Reciprocal Tariffs and the Liberation Day Formula
41:26 The National Security Argument
Find free books, daily articles, podcasts, lecture series, and everything about the Austrian School of Economics at https://Mises.org.
X ► https://x.com/mises/
Facebook ► facebook.com/mises.institute
Instagram ► instagram.com/misesinstitute
SoundCloud ► soundcloud.com/misesmedia
Apple Podcasts ► podcasts.apple.com/us/artist/mises-institute/1280664810
Rumble ► rumble.com/c/c-2212754
Odysee ► odysee.com/@mises
Podcasts ► mises.org/podcasts
Economists have agreed on free trade for two centuries; the public and the politicians haven't caught up. Lucas Engelhardt rebuilds the case from scratch—mutual benefit, comparative advantage, and the simple point that drawing a border between two traders destroys none of the gains—then takes apart the arguments for tariffs one by one. Most timely is his treatment of trade deficits: following Mises, he shows a deficit isn't a "loss" but the natural result of Americans choosing goods over cash, and explains why "Liberation Day" tariffs actually made the deficit spike.
Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on July 21, 2026.
Mises University is the world's leading instructional program in the Austrian School of economics, and is the essential training ground for economists who are looking beyond the mainstream.
0:00 Intro: Tariffs vs. Free Trade
1:24 Defining Tariffs and Why Countries Use Them
5:14 A Bad Argument for Free Trade
8:04 The Case for Free Trade: Mutual Benefit, Comparative Advantage, and Peace
15:27 The Balance of Trade Argument
20:08 Why Trade Deficits Aren't Losses
24:03 Protecting Domestic Workers
28:54 The Infant Industry Argument
32:29 Reciprocal Tariffs and the Liberation Day Formula
41:26 The National Security Argument
Find free books, daily articles, podcasts, lecture series, and everything about the Austrian School of Economics at https://Mises.org.
X ► https://x.com/mises/
Facebook ► facebook.com/mises.institute
Instagram ► instagram.com/misesinstitute
SoundCloud ► soundcloud.com/misesmedia
Apple Podcasts ► podcasts.apple.com/us/artist/mises-institute/1280664810
Rumble ► rumble.com/c/c-2212754
Odysee ► odysee.com/@mises
Podcasts ► mises.org/podcasts
