I'm surprised to find here that more people still support free trade than oppose it. This despite the supposed recent increase in protectionist feeling.
For the friendly reader who (a) isn't a grad student in Poli. Sci., and (b) doesn't know my soap box on this, my opinion on this issue is as follows:
1. Free trade is good, but
2. Switching to free trade hurts some people.
3. The rich countries can afford to compensate these people through social welfare programs and education.
4. The poor countries usually can't afford to help these people.
5. Therefore, the IMF and World Bank and other international organizations should work to compensate the losers in these free trade agreements in the poor countries. Could hardly hurt their reputations, too.
6. Finally, we should engage in more preferential trade agreements, in which the poor countries get to export stuff to us duty-free, but we still allow them to tax our exports, while these countries develop export industries. Over the long term better for everybody.
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