23 Facts About Free trade

1.

Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports.

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2.

In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold right-wing positions, while economic nationalist and left-wing political parties generally support protectionism, the opposite of free trade.

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3.

Free trade was best exemplified by the unilateral stance of Great Britain who reduced regulations and duties on imports and exports from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1920s.

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4.

Two simple ways to understand the proposed benefits of free trade are through David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage and by analyzing the impact of a tariff or import quota.

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5.

Free trade creates winners and losers, but theory and empirical evidence show that the gains from free trade are larger than the losses.

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6.

Economic models indicate that free trade leads to greater technology adoption and innovation.

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7.

Notion of a free trade system encompassing multiple sovereign states originated in a rudimentary form in 16th century Imperial Spain.

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8.

Free trade policies have battled with mercantilist, protectionist, isolationist, socialist, populist and other policies over the centuries.

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9.

Free trade came to what would become the United States as a result of the American Revolution.

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10.

In Britain, free trade became a central principle practiced by the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846.

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11.

From 1934, Free trade liberalization began to take place through the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act.

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12.

The United States and Britain, sometimes considered the homes of free trade policy, employed protectionism to varying degrees at all times.

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13.

The most consistent practitioners of free trade have been Switzerland, the Netherlands and to a lesser degree Belgium.

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14.

Free trade allows companies from rich countries to directly invest in poor countries, sharing their knowledge, providing capital and giving access to markets.

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15.

Economic arguments against free trade criticize the assumptions or conclusions of economic theories.

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16.

Sociopolitical arguments against free trade cite social and political effects that economic arguments do not capture, such as political stability, national security, human rights and environmental protection.

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17.

Many anti-globalization groups oppose free trade based on their assertion that free-trade agreements generally do not increase the economic freedom of the poor or of the working class and frequently make them poorer.

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18.

Research shows that support for Free trade restrictions is highest among respondents with the lowest levels of education.

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19.

Research suggests that attitudes towards free trade do not necessarily reflect individuals' self-interests.

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20.

Value of free trade was first observed and documented in 1776 by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, writing:.

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21.

Exceptionally, Henry George's 1886 book Protection or Free Trade was read out loud in full into the Congressional Record by five Democratic congressmen.

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22.

American economist Tyler Cowen wrote that Protection or Free Trade "remains perhaps the best-argued tract on free trade to this day".

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23.

Free trade argues that the removal of protective tariffs alone is never sufficient to improve the situation of the working class, unless accompanied by a shift towards land value tax.

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