http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-the-us-restrict-free-trade Opposing Views - Should the U.S. Restrict Free Trade? http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/trade-barriers-harm-poor-not-to-mention-united-states One way countries restrict trade is through tariffs, which ultimately hurt the world’s poorest people. For example, because tariffs on imports of some African agricultural products are as high as 150 percent, African farmers are often unable to... NCPA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:39:06 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/trade-barriers-harm-poor-not-to-mention-united-states http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/outsourcing-allows-cost-savings-and-everyone-benefits One of the most important sources of economic growth is the reduction of firms' real costs through increases in the productivity of labor and capital used to produce goods. Free trade can be a major catalyst for real cost reduction. Consider, for... NCPA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:38:58 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/outsourcing-allows-cost-savings-and-everyone-benefits http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/trade-balance-exports-are-price-we-pay Critics of free trade usually point to trade deficits as an example of the negative effects from reducing trade barriers. However, trade imbalances can signal several positive factors. First, a country pays for its imports with its exports. NCPA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:38:53 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/trade-balance-exports-are-price-we-pay http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-necessary-for-economic-growth Market-friendly, liberalizing policies help facilitate growth. If any single measure signals that policies are moving in the right direction, it is the growth rate of a country's exports.   In almost every successful economic... NCPA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:38:48 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-necessary-for-economic-growth http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-allows-countries-to-exploit-comparative-advantage Freer trade — from reduced tariffs, regulations and restrictions — permits an economy to make better use of its resources but does not automatically give a country a new and much higher growth rate. Its main benefit is its effect on the level... NCPA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:38:43 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-allows-countries-to-exploit-comparative-advantage http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/trade-adjustment-assistance-helps-those-who-lose-jobs As imports have risen, unemployment in the United States has fallen.   Our unemployment rate, at 5%, is lower than those of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.   Yet some people do lose their jobs due to trade, and the... Diana Furchtgott-Roth Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:38:39 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/trade-adjustment-assistance-helps-those-who-lose-jobs http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-makes-american-paychecks-go-farther Free trade makes Americans better off because it results in a flow of inexpensive goods to American stores, increasing purchasing power and keeping inflation low.   Our paychecks go farther because we can buy clothes made in the... Diana Furchtgott-Roth Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:38:36 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-makes-american-paychecks-go-farther http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-creates-jobs According to Professor Andrew Bernard of Dartmouth College , about 40% of American workers work for firms that export. These exporting firms are vital for American jobs, especially at a time of slowing job creation.   The falling... Diana Furchtgott-Roth Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:38:29 -0600 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-creates-jobs http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/we-cant-afford-not-to-trade By George A. Pieler, IPI senior fellow, and Jens F. Laurson, editor-in-chief of the International Affairs Forum With world financial markets plummeting and markets everywhere reflecting the certainty of a widespread recession, the only question... Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:03:00 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/we-cant-afford-not-to-trade http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-civilizing-force By George A. Pieler, IPI senior fellow, and Jens F. Laurson, editor-in-chief of the International Affairs Forum Openness to trade is, and always had been, a hallmark of civilization’s advance.   Trade is where wealth is created, and trade... Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:56:58 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/a-civilizing-force http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-is-truly-progressive By George A. Pieler, IPI senior fellow, and Jens F. Laurson, editor-in-chief of the International Affairs Forum Trade’s most ideological critics want us to believe that free trade is some sort of luxury, something we can ‘afford’ only when... Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:56:40 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-is-truly-progressive http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/we-must-learn-from-the-past Megaprojects and massive neoliberal development plans are not a new phenomenon in Mexico and Central America. In fact, they have been the central components of fiscal packages of many presidents in recent years. From the North American Free Trade... Global Exchange Organization Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:38:51 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/we-must-learn-from-the-past http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/nafta-has-further-consequences NAFTA boosters who have masqueraded as champions of pragmatic immigration reform are reluctant to acknowledge inconvenient facts such as the value of the Mexican minimum wage dropping 23 percent in NAFTA's first decade. Nineteen million... Global Exchange Organization Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:38:46 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/nafta-has-further-consequences http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-agreements-have-big-costs Rather than liberating the entrepreneurial spirit of the populace in a way that benefits all, the pro-corporate architecture of “Free Trade Agreements” (FTAs) guarantees that the wealth generated by expanded trade and investment rebounds to a... Global Exchange Organization Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:38:45 -0500 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/free-trade-agreements-have-big-costs