International Political Economy
New ideas about the future of US trade policy have been on the table for many years. Economists are constantly thinking of how to better balance the market to make trading beneficial to all. And in a world, where over half the market is controlled by less than ten countries, a level playing field is in demand and most importantly, fair. Too many countries are being exploited for cheap labor and materials at our expense. So how do you level the field while benefiting everyone at the same time? Most would argue for free and fair trade - a combination that "creates jobs and raises living standards for American workers." So why would one argue that free trade is the best policy? For starters, it increases efficiency, competition, and variety available for consumption. This is mainly due to the absence of tariffs and trade barriers that complicate and slow down the market. Free trade also yields the consumption and production effects. With the consumption effect, countries are given the opportunity to trade at different prices; likewise, the production effect illustrates how trade is making you more efficient in the context of international trade. After all, gains from trade are analogous with technological prog
Basically, the conflict between free and fair trade arises in personal gain and domestic gain. It is a question of whether or not you are willing to lose in the short run to gain in the long run. If everyone believed that free trade would generate benefits for everyone, then there would never be any reason to charge that free trade is unfair. Actions are perceived as unfair only if some group expects to suffer losses as a result of the action. Fairness is only used to support a groups' narrow self-interests since it seems that anytime anyone expects to suffer losses as a result of some trade policy action, they are quick to scream, "unfair!" Thus fairness may be an inappropriate basis for choosing policies since someone would always stand to lose for any deviation from the status quo (Suranovic). Fair-trading on the surface implies a total market economy with a level playing field in international economic competition. It is very important to the general public and needs to be taken seriously when evaluating international trade policies. Specifically, fair-trading seeks to "redress the imbalance of big countries exploiting poor countries by imposing high import taxes on goods produced in developing countries." In addition, there exists some certain criteria of a fair trade commitment: (Suranovic) to protect the environment? Though it may not be the only tool, it is still a tool and an effort to protect the environment. Many people see fair trade as synonymous with protectionism. This protectionism is a result of anticipation that the group will suffer losses as a result of the action. Here we see the possibility of conflict between free and fair trade (S
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Approximate Word count = 1126
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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