Farewell to a Free Trader

Senator Jeff Flake's decision not to seek re-election means that when the Senate gathers in 2019 it will do so without one of its most ardent free traders. First elected to Congress in 2000 as a member of the House of Representatives before continuing on to the Senate in 2012, Sen. Flake compiled a sterling record in support of free trade and opposition to market-distorting subsidies. According to the Cato Institute's "

Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the Congress

" scorecard, he has been an exemplar, voting against trade barriers in 49 in 51 opportunities to do so and against subsidies every single time (19 votes).

The Arizona Republican, however, was more than just a reliable vote. In his recent book

Conscience of a Conservative: A rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle

, Sen. Flake devoted an entire chapter to the virtues of free trade, touching on topics such as trade's role in promoting growth, the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and why trade deficits are a misplaced worry. This year alone Sen. Flake, along with fellow Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain,

penned a defense

of the NAFTA in the Arizona Republic,

set up a website

for Arizonans to provide examples of how they have benefited from the agreement, and fought to

lift Jones Act shipping restrictions

on Puerto Rico.



In addition to economic rationales, Sen. Flake has also distinguished himself by grasping the moral case for trade. Perhaps the best example of this has been Sen. Flake's consistent push for ending trade restrictions on Cuba. As he told a

Cato Institute audience in 2015

, "to me it's just really been an issue of freedom." Writing in a

2014 op-ed

, the Senator correctly noted that "U.S. trade and travel restrictions with Cuba aren't restrictions on Cubans—they are restrictions on Americans."



So it is with trade restrictions more broadly.



In a more sensible Republican Party Sen. Flake would be touted as a possible presidential nominee. Hailing from the American West, Flake's optimism and sunny disposition, consistent belief in free trade and free markets, and openness to immigration make him perhaps the closest analog to a modern-day incarnation of Ronald Reagan. That the Arizona Senator has concluded the positions he holds, including an unwavering belief in free trade, mean he can no longer secure his party's nomination for next year's Senate race is deeply disturbing. If accurate, let us hope this is but a temporary fever whose breaking point is near.



The U.S. Congress has enjoyed few stronger champions of free trade than Sen. Flake. He will be dearly missed.

-by

Colin Grabow