Now that Congress has passed free trade agreements with Columbia, Panama and South Korea, it’s a good time to ask why the United States should support and expand free trade. The chart below shows that the benefits of free trade are hard to deny. Countries that have more trade freedom also enjoy stronger economies, less hunger, and better care of the environment. Opponents of free trade complain that it leads to “unfair” foreign competition and that it destroys jobs, but the truth is a much different story. “Countries with the …
Free trade agreements (FTAs) have economically benefited nations the world over since their inception. Poverty rates in countries with low trade barriers are significantly lower, and data in The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom demonstrate that free trade also leads to higher incomes, more jobs, and greater equality. That’s why it’s vitally important to quickly enact the three pending U.S. trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. These FTAs have been sitting on the President’s desk since 2007 for no good reason. President Obama has finally made them …
The most recent reminder of the complex relationship dynamics between India and China was the first “Strategic Economic Dialogue” that took place last week. The diplomatic relationship between India and China has been less than warm in the last few years, with simmering border disputes and recent disagreements over China’s much disputed claims in the South China Sea. Many of the countries in the Indo-Pacific region, from India to Vietnam and the Philippines, are deeply concerned about China’s military modernization and intentions in the region. Today, and in the years …
Today the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the trade deficit for July fell by $6.8 billion. Exports increased by $6.2 billion and imports decreased by $500 million. Historically, decreasing trade deficits are often a sign of economic weakness. When workers are unemployed, they have less money to spend. As a result, fewer goods are imported and the trade deficit may decrease. For example, the U.S. trade deficit fell by more than 50 percent from 2007 to 2009 as our economy weakened and unemployment increased. The amount of freedom …
President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines arrived in Beijing today to commence a five-day state visit to China. The trip has been slated as a goodwill mission aimed at repairing strained relations and increasing economic ties between the two nations. President Aquino, leading a delegation of some 200 Philippine business leaders, and his Chinese counterparts intend to sign trade deals that would expand Sino–Philippine trade from the current level of about $13 billion to more than $60 billion by 2016. The Chinese, following a goal of seeking greater investment in …
America’s bleak jobs picture would be even worse if not for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the U.S. economy. FDI in U.S. factories and property offers firms a source of new technologies, capital, products, and organizational skills, and it fuels economic growth. Most importantly, FDI creates jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 5.6 million Americans worked for U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations as of 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Every state in the country benefits from FDI (See chart). As The Heritage …
Since 1989, the United States has enacted numerous free trade agreements with countries around the world. These agreements have increased trade, improved international relations, and strengthened the U.S. economy. But don’t let the facts stop a good political fight. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), enacted in 1993, inspires the most controversy. For example, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), in an exercise that stretches the logic of statistical analysis well past the breaking point, claims that the net loss of U.S. jobs due to NAFTA from 1993 to 2002 …
Milton Friedman once said that “there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.” For most people in the world, this is a convincing argument. Not, however, for the Peronists who have dominated Argentina’s politics for the past 70 years. Ranked 138th out of 179 countries in The Heritage Foundation’s 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, Argentina’s economy continues to head in the wrong direction. The government’s …
Is open trade and investment good for China but bad for the U.S.? The Heritage Foundation’s China Global Investment Tracker has just been updated. Through June 30, it shows over $60 billion in Chinese investment in Latin America. This worries some people. They think that China is gaining economic benefits and cementing strategic ties in our backyard. At the same time, the U.S. has had a clear and powerful opportunity for years to expand our own links to the region through free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia and Panama. Those …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. Economy Needs Tax Reform, Not Tax Hikes – J.D. Foster Paul Ryan Schools Sebelius at Hearing … Ouch! – Kathryn Nix Republicans Split on Trade Tactics – Vicki Needham NAT GAS Act Isn’t the Solution for Energy – Calvin M. Dooley Welcome to Jimmy Carter’s 2nd term – Charles Hurt The Primary Education of Indiana’s Dick Lugar – Shira Toeplitz In the Murdoch Hacking Scandal, Roger Ailes Stands to Gain – …
