Free Trade vs. Protectionism: Extricating France from a False Dilemma

Globalization, liberalism, protectionism, free trade—these often misunderstood concepts are an integral part of international trade policies and, in broader terms, structure France’s economic and social development model. In this Working Paper, Raphaël Wintrebert sheds light on the terms of the debate and on the political, economic and social challenges involved so as to reformulate the conditions necessary for a European protectionism.Some caution is in order when broaching a subject on which clear-cut opinions err through ignorance: globalization, a development process, should not be confused with liberalism, a political philosophy that extends beyond the economic sphere, nor the latter with free trade, which remains a commercial policy whose interpretation is the focus of commentaries by experts and economists. These concepts are easy to lump together, which is often done to the left of Left, adding to the confusion. After providing this necessary terminology clarification, which shows that globalization and liberalism can go hand in hand with free-trade restrictions, the author stresses the need to take an in-depth inventory of trade policies on behalf of public authorities who lack reliable and accurate data to assess—beyond mere economic forecasts—the impact of production process internationalization. The author also warns against simplistically opposing liberalism and protectionism. Formulating an economic security doctrine at the national and European levels is a job for politicians, whose responsibility is to promote a development model which citizens can support. In other words, trade liberalization cannot take place in Europe without respecting the fundamental values and norms laid down in social and environmental clauses, which market self-regulation is incapable of doing on its own. In this respect, Europe can offer an unprecedented path between competitiveness and the need to abide by standards which are stakeholders in its identity: an ambitious path that will determine the future direction taken by the economic and social development models of France.