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I never understood why you need an agreement for free trade. Free trade should be the default. What is being negotiated is a perversion of free trade used to ma
by bko 12y ago
I never understood why you need an agreement for free trade. Free trade should be the default. What is being negotiated is a perversion of free trade used to mask corporate subsidies and crony capitalism.
- lumberjack 12y agoThey're are called "free trade agreements" because they do away with protectionism, thereby liberalizing those markets. There are no absolutes in the real world but markets do usually become freer as a result of these trade negotiations. People don't have beef with FTAs because they aren't liberal enough. I know that liberals like to get in on board the hate train but it's a bit disingenuous to pretend that you're on the same page as most of the folk protesting FTAs when you stand at odds on the basic question of whether protectionism can be economically beneficial or not.
- akhatri_aus 12y agoLots of countries aim for protectionism. The reason is they need to boost their manufacturing base or else they'll be stuck exporting raw materials to import manufactured goods to no end.
- TheCoelacanth 12y agoFree trade is the default, but practically every country has passed laws that override that default, which is what makes free trade agreements necessary.