Brown Warns US Against Protectionism

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

05 March 2009

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged the Obama administration to heed the lessons of history and resist the urge to turn its back on free trade in favour of protectionist policies as America sets about repairing its economic foundations.

In his historic speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4 - only four Prime Ministers before him had addressed members of the House and the Senate jointly - Brown spoke of an "economic hurricane" which had swept the world and created a "crisis of credit and of confidence." However, he argued that the major trading nations should not "succumb" to protectionist instincts and warned that this policy had failed in the past.

"So should we succumb to a race to the bottom and a protectionism that history tells us that, in the end, protects no-one? No," Brown remarked, adding: "We should have the confidence that we can seize the opportunities ahead and make the future work for us."

While the political philosophies of Brown and Obama have much in common, it is unclear how much influence the Prime Minister will have on the President's international policies, or, indeed, if the 'special relationship' is as special as it was under previous leaders. However, the silence that greeted Brown's remarks on protectionism in a speech sprinkled with generous rounds of applause likely speaks volumes.

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