Free Trade Agreements Have hurt american workers
Claims that trade deals increase exports and create jobs are based on flawed trade models, and on distorted and one-sided interpretations of the findings of those models.
The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS)
70,000 jobs promised..Zero created
60,000 additional jobs lost
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
200,000 jobs promised
Zero Created
Additional 682,900 jobs lost
What’s going on here?
Presidents of both parties from Clinton through Obama to Trump have sold free trade agreements on the basis of export growth. But free trade agreements impact a lot more than exports—they increase imports and encourage outsourcing, which means fewer American jobs.
What should we do?
We should stop negotiating new free trade agreements, and work to fix the ones we have. The United States needs to base its projections on the real impact of free trade agreements—including effects on exports and imports, outsourcing, wages, and employment.
Get the full story:
- S. Korea Trade Deal Resulted in Growing Trade Deficits and Nearly 60,000 Lost Jobs
Heading South: U.S.–Mexico trade and job displacement after NAFTA