There was a time when the notion of free trade was reasonably popular in America. The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA passed during the mid-1990s.
Among other things, the pact opened America up to greater competition with Mexico, but its passage came at a time when investment was pouring into the emerging Internet economy, helping America create millions of jobs and perhaps limiting any resentment toward NAFTA.
In two thousand and one, China entered the World Trade Organization, which represented a far greater shock to the U.S. economy. But immediately afterwards, a real estate and construction boom ensued, leading to falling unemployment and feeling of greater prosperity among homeowners.
But those booms are over. In recent years, income growth has been soft for many Americans and trade has emerged as a scapegoat. Americans are hardly alone in terms of their skepticism regarding the benefits of free trade. As reported by the New York Times, a twenty fourteen Pew Research Center survey of people in forty-four nations found that only forty five percent of respondents believe that trade raises wages.
