> Naively, globalism seems to benefit the ultra wealthy but this seems to be at the cost of the middle class. True free trade benefits the ultra wealthy and th

> Naively, globalism seems to benefit the ultra wealthy but this seems to be at the cost of the middle class. True free trade benefits the ultra wealthy and the middle class as well everyone else. Everyone has more buying power as the cost of goods and services are lower. Others make money by trading with new partners and markets. Our free trade deals are not true free trade as they just establish new kinds of winners and losers through government control. In fact, you don't need any kind of deal for free trade to work, just let people trade what they want to trade without restriction. > Could somebody explain to me why trying to effect the US's stance as an economic leader using tariffs is a bad idea? As the article mentions, this is what TPP was intended to do by strengthening non-chinese trading partners in Asian region. IMO, tariffs to protect US economy are more like tariffs or other government rules that protect any other industry - they make the pain less in the moment, but ultimately weaken the subject of the protection as they are not forced to compete on merit. This leads to a more dramatic crash when competition finally comes.. there is analogy to this in theory of disruptive innovation in tech.