The infant industry argument is a smoke screen. The so-called infants never grow up. Once imposed, tariffs are seldom eliminated. Moreover, the argument is seldom used on behalf of true unborn infants that might conceivably be born and survive if given temporary protection; they have no spokesmen. It is used to justify tariffs for rather aged infants that can mount political pressure.

Protecting so-called “infant industries” hurts consumers because it:

* restricts new suppliers from entering the market (which restricts supply and increases the price to the consumer)
* removes the incentive for existing suppliers to innovate (which decreases product quality)
* restricts their access to consume non-protected competitive products (in this case, non-ethanol alternative fuels)