Tell the whole world: I believe in free trade

More than a decade ago, Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman wrote in “The Case for Free Trade” that a “fallacy seldom contradicted is that exports are good, imports bad.”

One of those rare opportunities now stares you in the face. Tell the entire world you believe free trade is the best policy by signing a petition here that will be unveiled Wednesday before the G20 economic summit in London.

With the specter of protectionism rising, it’s time for Americans to take Friedman up on his suggestion offered in 1997: “We could say to the rest of the world: We cannot force you to be free. But we believe in freedom and we intend to practice it.”