| | '''Free trade''' is often a [[Liberal euphemisms|misleading term]] for managed trade between nations without [[tariffs]], [https://freeenterprisecenter.net/free-trade quotas] or [https://freeenterprisecenter.net/free-trade subsidies] applying to the goods exchanged. Early proponents of free trade were the British economist [[Adam Smith]] and [[David Ricardo]] who developed the term in its modern form. Smith and Ricardo argued that some countries have specializations which give them a comparative advantage. | | '''Free trade''' is often a [[Liberal euphemisms|misleading term]] for managed trade between nations without [[tariffs]], [https://freeenterprisecenter.net/free-trade quotas] or [https://freeenterprisecenter.net/free-trade subsidies] applying to the goods exchanged. Early proponents of free trade were the British economist [[Adam Smith]] and [[David Ricardo]] who developed the term in its modern form. Smith and Ricardo argued that some countries have specializations which give them a comparative advantage. |
| − | One key problem affecting trade which can make it unfair trade is state subsidies and state-run companies. Other practices which can cause unfair trade is that some countries have a large amount of sweatshop labor or are heavy polluters of the air and water. | + | One key problem affecting trade which can make it unfair trade is state subsidies and state-run companies. Other practices which can cause unfair trade is that some countries have a large amount of sweatshop labor and/or are heavy polluters of the air and water. |
| | Since one nation has little control over another nation, without some sort of agreement between two nations, unfair trade harms a particular group of people in one nation, such as laborers or consumers. Free trade suppresses wages and reduces job opportunities in the wealthier nation (e.g., the [[United States]]), and transfers wealth to the elite in the poorer nation (e.g., [[China]]). When the U.S. enters "free" trade agreements with authoritarian and totalitarian governments, U.S. companies such as [[Google]] that try to do business in those countries frequently help them enforce their repression.<ref>Bokhari, Allum (February 17, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/02/17/bokhari-free-trade-or-global-tyranny/ Bokhari: Free Trade Leads to Globalized Tyranny]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved February 18, 2019.</ref> | | Since one nation has little control over another nation, without some sort of agreement between two nations, unfair trade harms a particular group of people in one nation, such as laborers or consumers. Free trade suppresses wages and reduces job opportunities in the wealthier nation (e.g., the [[United States]]), and transfers wealth to the elite in the poorer nation (e.g., [[China]]). When the U.S. enters "free" trade agreements with authoritarian and totalitarian governments, U.S. companies such as [[Google]] that try to do business in those countries frequently help them enforce their repression.<ref>Bokhari, Allum (February 17, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/02/17/bokhari-free-trade-or-global-tyranny/ Bokhari: Free Trade Leads to Globalized Tyranny]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved February 18, 2019.</ref> |