Policy for the Next President: Fair Trade or Free Trade

Recent economic tremors in the United States are reverberating throughout the global economy. American consumers are buying less as house prices fall, credit-card debt rises, and job growth slows at home. This may hurt export-oriented emerging economies, particularly in Asia.  Some Americans may look at this global market unease, as well as increased foreign competition and ownership in our economy, and see a reason to turn inward. 

But now more than ever, the United States must lead the international community in a cooperative effort to strengthen and sustain global economic growth while translating that growth more effectively into broad-based increases in living standards and purchasing power around the world.  Strategically pursuing these twin goals will generate additional demand for our own products and services among the growing global middle class, thereby fostering further improvements in our own living standards. 

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This article was originally published in Council on Foreign Relations.