What Is Free Trade? / An Adaptation of Frederic Bastiat's "Sophismes Éconimiques" Designed for the American Reader

It argues that protective tariffs function as concealed taxation benefiting special interests while impoverishing consumers, and advocates unrestricted exchange. The author explains that market prices reflect the human labor embodied in goods and that natural advantages lower costs for consumers rather than creating producer windfalls. Through clear examples and rebuttals the text examines balance-of-trade fallacies, reciprocity, discriminating duties, effects on wages, raw materials, internal taxation, and infrastructure arguments, contesting claims for economic self-sufficiency. The work blends theory and practical illustration to expose common fallacies about protectionism and to promote free international trade.