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Global Issues >> International Trade
International Trade
Trading With Poor Countries
Most Americans support giving poor countries preferential
trade treatment. A strong majority supports lowering trade
barriers with poor countries on a reciprocal basis.
Americans show high levels of support for various ideas for
extending the benefits of globalization to poor countries.
An idea currently under discussion at the WTO for giving poor
countries preferential trade treatment received strong support
in the PIPA survey, even when it was suggested it might threaten
some American jobs. [1]
Another idea explored in the October 1999 PIPA poll was to
transfer trade quotas from wealthier countries to poor countries.
Respondents were introduced to the debate on the issue as
follows:
Some people say that we should give more of these quotas
to poor countries, especially those that presently receive
US foreign aid, because this would help their economies
and may even help some foreign aid recipients get to the
point that they will not need aid. Others argue that this
is not a good idea because we may have to take quotas away
from the wealthier countries that presently have them, and
this could be politically sensitive.
Seventy-two percent said they favored the idea while 21% were
opposed. A January 1995 PIPA poll posed the same question and
found 69% support. [2]
This attitude is confirmed by a recent question by GMF: “There
is a lot of talk about what is better for developing countries:
helping them through aid or helping them by making it easier
to trade their products on the global market. Which of these
two do you think is most effective?” Only 16% thought
aid was most effective. In the same poll, a very large 87% agreed
with the general proposition that “Freer trade gives developing
countries a better chance to grow their economies and lift themselves
out of poverty.” However, respondents were divided on
a different proposition: “Freer trade threatens developing
countries whose economies are too fragile to compete in the
global economy” (45% agree, 43% disagree). Many respondents
must have seen truth in both statements—consistent with
the support, noted above, for preferential trade treatment for
the poorest countries. [2a]
Support for giving preferential trade treatment to poor countries
may be influenced by a strong majority perception that poor
countries are not being treated fairly in trade negotiations.
See “Concerns
About Effect of Trade on Poor Countries,” in Reservations
About the Effects of Trade in Practice.
Americans also show a readiness to lower trade barriers with
poor countries on a reciprocal basis. A 1998 PIPA poll asked,
"As a general rule, if a country that is poorer than
the US says it will lower its barriers to products from the
US if we will lower our barriers to their products, should
the US agree or not agree to do this?" A strong 64% said
they would be willing to lower trade barriers with poor countries
on a reciprocal basis. This is in contrast to other PIPA polls
taken between 1998 and 2004 that asked the same question about
countries with lower wages. In these cases only about 50%
said they were willing to do the same with low-wage countries.
[3] Of course poor countries are also generally low-wage,
but apparently, when countries are clearly defined as poor
this offsets some of the concerns about wage competition.
Trade With Africa
Consistent with this view, there is public support for opening
up trade with African countries. A solid majority supports
free trade with African countries, both in principle and specifically
as outlined in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
In January 2003 PIPA asked “As a general rule, if countries
in Africa say they will lower their barriers to products from
the US if we will lower our barriers to their products, should
the US agree or not agree to do this?” A solid 57% majority
said the US should do so; about a third (32%) felt the US
should not.
Another sample heard a description of the AGOA legislation,
which Congress passed in 2000 and expanded in 2002, as a bill
that “eliminated import restrictions on nearly all goods
produced in African countries that agreed to embrace market-oriented
economic policies and move to open up their markets to US
trade and investment.” Support was just slightly higher
than the level of support for free trade in principle: 60%
said they favored the measure, with 27% opposed.
A more modest majority also supported the idea of the US increasing
import quotas for African goods at the expense of quotas assigned
to more developed trade partners. Respondents were asked the
following question:
As part of its trade policy, the US limits the import of
certain goods, such as apparel, by establishing quotas that
give other countries the right to sell only a certain amount
of a product in the US. In many cases these quotas limit
imports from poor countries more than they limit imports
from wealthier countries. Some people say that we should
increase quotas for poor countries, such as those in Africa,
because this would help their economies and may even reduce
their need for US and international aid. Others argue that
this is not a good idea because it would lead to more competition
from low-wage workers, and that reducing quotas for wealthier
countries could be politically sensitive. Do you favor or
oppose the idea of increasing import quotas for poor countries
in Africa?
In this case, a slimmer majority (52%) favored increasing
import quotas from African countries at the expense of wealthier
countries, while 37% opposed the idea. It is possible that
the mention of the potential costs – especially of competition
from low-wage workers – diminished support for this
idea. Still, in every question posed, majorities supported
increased trade with Africa, even though a strong plurality
said that African countries primarily would benefit. Asked
about the “overall impact of a closer
trade relationship between the United States and African countries,”
44% felt it would only or mostly benefit African countries.
Just 13% felt it would only or mostly benefit the US. Another
28% felt all countries would benefit equally, while 7% felt
no country would benefit.
According to a May 1998 Epic-MRA poll, 56% agreed that the
US should pass legislation to open up trade with the African
continent, while just 28% opposed it. Interestingly, this
was true even though 40% thought such a deal would mostly
benefit Africa and just 10% of the public thought a trade
deal with Africa would mostly benefit the US. [4]
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