Has free trade helped the U.S. economy? NO

Last February, a New York Times/CBS poll found that 51 percent of respondents agreed the U.S. had “lost more than it gained from globalization.”

Further, while trade is not supposed to create political problems for Republicans, a recent Wall Street Journal poll of Republican supporters found that that 59 percent agreed that “foreign trade has been bad for the U.S.”

These poll results, however, should not surprise anyone who understands the economics of trade.

This is not just a story about laid-off factory workers, who obviously suffer the toughest losses. Rather, all workers in the U.S. economy who resemble import-displaced workers in terms of education, skills, and credentials are affected.

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