My understanding of “fair trade” is that it’s anti-conservative drivel.
It can be used to justify just about any tariff or quota you want to implement. Someone’s ox is always getting gored. The one that screams the loudest or, more likely, makes the largest campaign contribution, gets satisfaction.
Look at the current tariff imbroglio. Certain steelmakers benefit. Car makers and any producer of other products made from steel are essentially penalized in the world market. You can play this game forever, and it certainly isn’t conservative. More like the power plays that liberals are always making.
Where do you get that idea from? Conservatism like no other political philosophy( at least that strain of true conservatism derived from historical natural law and passed to us in the English Common Law) understands the concept of giving everyone “ their due”.
In a fair5 trade scenario each party benefits. To assure that is to give each their due.
Obviously, America is not benefiting from NAFTA in the automobile trade I mentioned earlier. The best way to remedy it in such a way to give America(ns) their due is an equalizing, but not punitive tariff. That appears to be wwheat Trump is doing.
I watched NAFTA being formulated by European professors of law with no concept of Justice under the (Natural) Law. It stank then and stinks now.