ARGUMENTS AGAINST FREE TRADE

We have seen the benefits of trade, and have looked at how trade undoubtedly benefits some and harms others. Those who are harmed by trade often seek to restrict trade, primarily in the form of tariffs and quotas. Because trade leads to some loss, those who are harmed by trade have made arguments against free trade.

The arguments against free trade fall into two camps. Traditional economic arguments include protection for infant industries, protection against dumping, low foreign wages, and support for industries judged vital for national defense. More recent arguments focus on globalization (social and economic) concerns that embody political-economy characteristics. These include domestic employment concerns, environmental concerns, and the impact of globalization on working conditions in developing nations. In what follows, we take a critical look at each of these arguments, showing that most of these arguments do not have a solid empirical basis.

Traditional Economic Arguments

Arguments against trade are not new. Despite the huge gains from trade, distortions (subsidies and trade barriers) continue because changing current policies will hurt those dependent on subsidies and trade restrictions, and these firms and workers will show their displeasure in the voting booth. All of these traditional economic arguments against free trade seem reasonable on their face, but on closer examination, they look less attractive.

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infant industry An industry so underdeveloped that protection is needed for it to become competitive on the world stage or to ensure its survival.

Infant Industry Argument An infant industry, it is argued, is one that is too underdeveloped to achieve comparative advantage or perhaps even to survive in the global market. Such an industry may be too small or undercapitalized, or its management and workers may be too inexperienced, to compete. Unless the industry’s government provides it with some protection through tariffs, quotas, or subsidies, it might not survive in the face of foreign competition.

In theory, once the infant industry has been given this protection, it should be able to grow, acquiring the necessary capital and expertise needed to compete internationally. Germany and the United States used high tariffs to protect their infant manufacturing sectors in the 1800s, and Japan continued to maintain import restrictions up until the 1970s.

Although the infant industry argument sounds reasonable, it has several limitations. First, protecting an industry must be done in a way that makes the industry internationally competitive. Many countries coddle their firms, and these producers never seem to develop into “mature,” internationally viable firms. Once protection is provided (typically, a protective tariff), it is difficult to remove after an industry has matured. The industry and its workers continue to convince policymakers of the need for continued protection.

Second, infant industry protection often tends to focus on capital manufacturing. Countries with huge labor supplies would do better to develop their labor-intensive industries first, letting more capital-intensive industries develop over time. Every country, after all, should seek to exploit its comparative advantages, but it is difficult to determine which industries have a chance of developing a comparative advantage in the future and should be temporarily protected.

Third, many industries seem to be able to develop without protections; therefore, countries may be wasting their resources and reducing their incomes by imposing protection measures.

Clearly, the infant industry argument is not valid for advanced economies such as those of the United States, much of Europe, and Japan. The evidence for developing nations shows some benefits but is mixed for the reasons noted above.

dumping Selling goods abroad at lower prices than in home markets, and often below cost.

Antidumping Dumping means that goods are sold at lower prices (often below cost) abroad than in their home market. This is typically a result of government subsidies.

In the same way that price discrimination improves profits, firms can price discriminate between their home markets and foreign markets. Let’s assume that costs of production are $100 per unit for all firms (domestic and foreign). A state subsidy of $30 a unit, for example, reduces domestic costs to $70 per unit and permits the firm to sell its product in world markets at these lower prices. These state subsidies give these firms a cost advantage in foreign markets.

Firms can use dumping as a form of predatory pricing, using higher prices in their domestic markets to support unrealistically low prices in foreign markets. The goal of predatory pricing is to drive foreign competitors out of business. When this occurs, the firm doing the dumping then comes back and imposes higher prices. In the long run, these higher prices thereby offset the company’s short-term losses.

Dumping violates U.S. trade laws. If the federal government determines that a foreign firm is dumping products into the United States, it can impose antidumping tariffs on the offending products. The government, however, must distinguish among dumping, legitimate price discrimination, and legitimate instances of lower-cost production arising from comparative advantage.

Low Foreign Wages Some advocates of trade barriers maintain that domestic firms and their workers need to be protected from displacement by cheap foreign labor. Without this protection, it is argued, foreign manufacturers that pay their workers less than a dollar an hour will flood the market with low-cost products. As we have already seen, this argument has something to it: Workers in advanced economies can be displaced by low-wage foreign workers. This is what has happened in the American textile industry.

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Once a handful of American clothing manufacturers began moving their production facilities overseas, thereby undercutting domestic producers, other manufacturers were forced to follow them. American consumers have benefited from lower clothing prices, but many displaced textile workers are still trying to get retrained and adapt to work in other industries. More recently, many manufacturing jobs have drifted overseas, and high-technology firms today are shifting some help desk facilities and computer programming to foreign shores.

On balance, however, the benefits of lower-priced goods considerably exceed the costs of lost employment. The federal government has resisted imposing protection measures for the sake of protecting jobs, instead funding programs that help displaced workers transition to new lines of work.

National Defense Argument In times of national crisis or war, the United States must be able to rely on key domestic industries, such as oil, steel, and defense. Some have argued that these industries may require some protection even during peacetime to ensure that they are already well established when a crisis strikes and importing key products may be impossible. Within limits, this argument is sound. Still, the United States has the capacity to produce such a wide variety of products that protections for specific industries would seem to be unjustified and unnecessary.

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The steel industry is one of several that are considered key domestic industries vital in times of national crisis. Therefore, industry executives frequently argue for protection against foreign competition.
Wangsong/Shutterstock

So what are we to make of these traditional arguments? Although they all seem reasonable, they all have deficiencies. Infant industries may be helped in the short run, but protections are often extended well beyond what is necessary, resulting in inefficient firms that are vulnerable on world markets. Dumping is clearly a potential problem, but distinguishing real cases of dumping from comparative advantage has often proven difficult in practice. Low foreign wages are often the only comparative advantage a developing nation has to offer the world economy, and typically, the benefits to consumers vastly outweigh the loss to a particular industry. Maintaining (protecting) industries for national defense has merit and may be appropriate for some countries, but for a country as huge and diversified as the United States, it is probably unnecessary.

Recent Globalization Concerns

Expanded trade and globalization have provided the world’s producers and consumers with many benefits. Some observers, however, have voiced concerns about globalization and its effects on domestic employment, the global environment, and working conditions in developing nations. Let’s look at each one of these globalization concerns.

Trade and Domestic Employment Some critics argue that increased trade and globalization spell job losses for domestic workers. We have seen that this can be true. Some firms, unable to compete with imports, will be forced to lay off workers or even close their doors. Even so, increased trade usually allows firms that are exporters to expand their operations and hire new workers. These will be firms in industries with comparative advantages. For the United States, these industries tend to be those that require a highly skilled workforce, resulting in higher wages for American workers.

Clearly, those industries that are adding workers and those that are losing jobs are different industries. For workers who lose their jobs, switching industries can be difficult and time-consuming, and often it requires new investments in human capital. U.S. trade policy recognizes this problem, and the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program provides workers with job search assistance, job training, and some relocation allowances. In some industries sensitive to trade liberalization, including textiles and agriculture, trade policies are designed to proceed gradually, thus giving these industries and their workers some extra time to adjust.

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Possible employment losses in some noncompetitive industries do not seem to provide enough justification for restricting trade. By imposing trade restrictions such as tariffs or quotas in one industry, employment opportunities in many other industries may be reduced. Open, competitive trade encourages producers to focus their production on those areas in which the country stands at a comparative advantage. Free trade puts competitive pressure on domestic firms, forcing them to be more productive and competitive, boosting the flow of information and technology across borders, and widening the availability of inputs for producers. At the end of the day, consumers benefit from these efficiencies, having more goods to choose from and enjoying a higher standard of living.

Trade and the Environment Concerns about globalization, trade, and the environment usually take one of two forms. Some people are concerned that expanded trade and globalization will lead to increased environmental degradation as companies take advantage of lax environmental laws abroad, particularly in the developing world. Others worry that attempts by the government to strengthen environmental laws will be challenged by trading partners as disguised protectionism.

Domestic environmental regulations usually target a product or process that creates pollution or other environmental problems. One concern in establishing environmental regulations, however, is that they not unfairly discriminate against the products of another country. This is usually not a serious problem. Nearly all trade agreements, including the World Trade Organization agreements and NAFTA, have provisions permitting countries to enforce measures “necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health” or to conserve exhaustible natural resources. Nothing in our trade agreements prevents the United States from implementing environmental regulations as long as they do not unreasonably discriminate against our trading partners.

Will free trade come at the expense of the environment? Every action involves a tradeoff. Clearly, there can be cases in which the benefits of trade accruing to large numbers of people result in harm to a more concentrated group. However, trade policies can also be complementary to good environmental policies. For example, increased free trade in agriculture encourages countries with fertile lands to specialize in growing crops, while discouraging countries from farming marginal lands that require the use of environmentally damaging pesticides and chemicals.

We have seen that trade raises incomes in developed and developing countries. How rising incomes affect environmental protections depends on the state of a country’s development. In poor, developing countries, environmental protection will not at first be a priority. Critics of globalization argue that rich nations will exploit weaker environmental regulations with trade and foreign direct investment. Yet many studies have found that not to be the case. In fact, as countries develop and incomes rise, the demand for environmental protection rises as the issue takes on added importance even in poorer nations. The result is what economists refer to as an environmental Kuznets curve, in which economic development initially harms the environment but then improves as incomes rise. An increased emphasis on environmental issues can be seen in countries such as Costa Rica, Brazil, and even India and China, as people in these countries demand a cleaner environment as incomes rise.

Trade and Its Effect on Working Conditions in Developing Nations Some antiglobalization activists argue that trade between the United States and developing countries, where wages are low and working conditions are deplorable, exploits workers in these developing countries. Clearly, such trade does hurt American workers in low-wage, low-skilled occupations who cannot compete with the workers paid an even lower wage overseas. But it is not clear that workers in developing countries would be helped if the United States were to cut off its trade with those countries that refuse to improve wages or working conditions. For these workers, producing goods for export may be the only job opportunity they have.

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Restricting trade with countries that do not raise wages to levels we think acceptable or bring working conditions up to our standards would probably do more harm than good. Low wages reflect, among other factors, small investments in human capital, low productivity, and meager living standards characteristic of developing nations. Blocking trade with these nations may deprive them of their key chance to grow and to improve in those areas in which we would like to see change.

Liberalized trade policies, economic freedom, and a legal system that respects property rights and foreign capital investment probably provide the best recipe for rapid development, economic growth, environmental protection, and improved wages and working conditions.

In summary, trade does result in job losses in some industries, but the gain for consumers and the competitive pressures that trade puts on domestic companies are beneficial to the economy as a whole. Trade raises incomes in developing nations, resulting in a growing demand for more environmentally friendly production processes. Trade is not the reason for low environmental standards in developing countries; they result from low incomes, low standards of living, and poor governmental policies. Trade brings about higher levels of income and ultimately better working conditions.

Can One Country’s Festival Disrupt World Trade?

How is China’s export sector so important that it can disrupt global trade during its annual Spring Festival?

Around early to mid-February of each year (depending on the lunar calendar), one of the largest mass migrations of people begins in China—hundreds of millions of people pack onto crowded trains, airline seats sell out, and highways are jammed with cars in the world’s largest auto market. Although this might sound typical of a Memorial Day or Thanksgiving weekend in the West, the sheer scale of the Spring Festival in China makes most other holidays around the world appear minuscule.

Just how big of an impact on the world does this Chinese festival have?

The 15-day Spring Festival, which coincides with the Lunar New Year and culminates with the Lantern Festival, is so large that it actually disrupts global trade each year. Because China is the world’s largest exporter of goods, consumers and producers around the world depend on Chinese exports to stock their shelves and to provide parts for manufacturing. Moreover, many companies depend on custom orders, such as custom tote bags for a large conference or custom racing medals to be handed out to runners after a marathon. Often these orders are made months in advance to allow time for production as well as shipping, usually by cargo ship.

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Calvin Chan/Alamy

Because nearly everyone celebrates the Spring Festival in China, most workers take long vacations in February. Factories that employ migrants from the countryside become empty as workers leave to visit their families and friends. As a result, many factory orders are delayed or placed on hold during the festival, which can affect markets around the world as stores and customers wait for their orders to arrive.

The sheer size and influence of China’s export sector can disrupt global trade when there is a halt in production. As a result, distributors anticipate delays by placing orders extra-early whenever possible around that time of year. One might wonder why factory managers do not provide incentives for workers to forgo the festival in order to fill customer orders. Most likely it’s because the managers themselves are leaving to see their families! The Spring Festival is a 4,000-year-old tradition and one not to be missed, even at the cost of disrupting world trade.

GO TO TO PRACTICE THE ECONOMIC CONCEPTS IN THIS STORY

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CHECKPOINT

ARGUMENTS AGAINST FREE TRADE

  • The infant industry argument claims that some industries are so underdeveloped that they need protection to survive in a global competitive environment.

  • Dumping involves selling products at different prices in domestic and foreign markets, often with the help of subsidies from the government. This is a form of predatory pricing to gain market share in the foreign market.

  • Some suggest that domestic workers need to be protected from the low wages in foreign countries. This puts the smaller aggregate loss to small groups ahead of the greater general gains from trade. Also, for many countries, a low wage is their primary comparative advantage.

  • Some argue that select industries need protection to ensure that they will exist for national defense reasons.

  • Globalization displaces some workers due to foreign competition, and some advocates would restrict trade on these grounds alone. But on net, trade has led to higher overall employment as exports expand and the economy grows.

  • Concern about the environment is often a factor in trade negotiations. But as trade increases incomes in developing countries, environmental awareness rises.

  • Some believe that trade exploits workers in developing countries; however, trade has typically resulted in higher wages for these workers.

QUESTION: Trade between the United States and China increased significantly over the last two decades. China is now the United States’ second largest trading partner after Canada. Expanding trade has led to significant reductions in the price of many goods, including technology goods such as computers and tablets. However, some people have been vocal against policies that promote freer trade with China. What are some reasons why people would be against greater trade with China?

Answers to the Checkpoint questions can be found at the end of this chapter.

Growth in the volume of trade with China has led to lower prices on many goods Americans enjoy. However, although trade with China has led to significant benefits to Americans, the sentiment is not always positive for a number of reasons. First, many believe that China’s low prices (through its low wages as well as government efforts to keep the value of the U.S. dollar strong) forced many American factories to close or move overseas, causing job losses. Second, some believe China holds an unfair advantage due to poor working conditions and low environmental standards. Third, some believe that quality standards for Chinese products are low, leading to safety issues. These and other reasons have created a backlash against efforts to further reduce trade barriers between the two nations. However, these concerns have not diminished the benefits of low prices and the many American jobs generated through increased exports of American-made products to a growing consumer market in China.