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Global Issues >> International Trade
International Trade
International Trade in
General
Americans' views of international trade are complex
and cannot be explained as a simple preference for free trade
or protectionism. A strong majority of Americans views trade,
in principle, as something positive and as having significant
benefits for the US economy. However, the majority also has
major reservations about how trade has been put into practice:
Americans show strong concern that, though trade has benefited
business and the wealthy, it has not benefited American workers
and has widened the gap between rich and poor. Americans also
show concern that trade has been harmful to the environment,
to international labor standards, and to poor countries; and
are unhappy because they believe that, while US trade practices
are fair, most other countries' are not. Thus, on balance,
the net feeling about trade is lukewarm at best. However,
if Americans' reservations are addressed, an overwhelming
majority says it would then support free trade--suggesting
that what resistance there is to the growth of trade is derived
from pragmatic, not ideological concerns.
US Trade Policy
A majority of Americans believes that US policy
should ultimately support the goal of increasing trade. At
the same time Americans are unhappy about how much emphasis
US trade policymakers place on commercial interests and overwhelmingly
favor incorporating other priorities-protecting American workers,
protecting the environment, preserving international labor
standards-into the process of furthering trade. If necessary
they are willing to slow the growth of trade if that is the
only way to address these other priorities. Support for fast
track (now called "trade promotion authority") is
low, apparently because it signifies the increase of trade
without addressing these other concerns.
Helping American Workers
Given their concerns for American workers, a majority of
Americans supports having some trade barriers as a means of
protecting workers from sudden job losses, even when this
is weighed against the potential benefit of lower prices.
At the same time, Americans show ambivalence about trade barriers
and a strong majority favors the long-term goal of gradually
removing them. Also, more popular than trade barriers are
government programs that help American workers, through retraining
and education, adapt to a globalizing economy. When it is
assumed that such government programs will be in place, support
for removing trade barriers becomes overwhelming.
International Labor Standards
Americans show a strong concern for maintaining international
labor standards. An overwhelming majority favors the US requiring
compliance with international labor standards as part of international
trade agreements. This is prompted by a sense of moral obligation
to foreign workers as well as concern that low labor standards
in other countries create unfair competition for US labor.
An overwhelming majority also feels that the United States
should not allow products to be imported when they have been
made under conditions in violation of international labor
standards. A strong majority indicates a readiness to pay
higher prices for products to ensure that they are not manufactured
in substandard conditions.
Trade and the Environment
A strong majority accepts the view that trade has implications
for the environment and supports the idea that environmental
standards should be incorporated into trade agreements. A
very strong majority rejects the WTO's current position that
countries should not be able to restrict imports based on
the environmental effects of their production.
Trading With Poor Countries
Most Americans perceive that poor countries do
not get a net benefit from international trade, and support
giving poor countries preferential trade treatment. A strong
majority supports lowering trade barriers with poor countries
on a reciprocal basis.
The World Trade Organization (WTO)
A solid majority feels that the US should participate in
the WTO and that the WTO should even be strengthened. At the
same time, a majority has followed the controversy surrounding
the WTO and a strong majority agrees that the WTO is too responsive
to business interests over the interests of the world as a
whole. An overwhelming majority rejects its resistance to
including other considerations, such as labor and environmental
standards, in the trade negotiation process and its principle
that, in general, countries cannot refuse to import products
based on the environmental effects of how they are produced.
NAFTA and FTAA
For the last few years, a plurality has said that
on balance NAFTA is good for the US. However, a strong plurality
wants to see changes to NAFTA, and a majority expresses dissatisfaction.
These reservations appear to arise from concerns that, while
business is benefiting, NAFTA can have negative impacts on
American workers' jobs and wages and on the environment. Nonetheless,
based on minimal polling, it appears that there is majority
support for expanding free trade to include other American
countries, and thus there would likely be support for a broader
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
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