Arguments for Free Trade (No Trade Barriers)
· Comparative Advantage - when countries produce the products/services they produce best (lowest opportunity cost), total world output will increase.
· History shows that increased trade is the best way to improve living standards for everyone.
· Will expand overseas markets and increase demand for U.S. goods, which leads to more U.S. jobs
· Increased imports lead to lower prices, and better quality and variety
· Foreign competition provides incentives for domestic producers to invest, improve, and modernize.
· Helps control inflation through lower prices
· We are a part of world economy; we can’t isolate ourselves
· Tariffs and quotas protect domestic jobs from cheap foreign labor by making foreign products more expensive. Low wages and cheap land abroad impossible for U.S. to compete against
· Too much specialization leads to dependence on other nations. We need protection for critical raw materials and defense related products
· New or emerging industries need to be protected from competition through the use of trade barriers
· Free trade leads to exploitation of labor and the environment in the developing world. It’s a race to the bottom.
· Will benefit people at top but not average Americans, leading to decrease in wages and jobs