Are Free-Trade Policies Helping or Hurting U.S. Manufacturing Workers?

Many economists continue to believe that increased foreign trade is a rising tide that will eventually lift all boats. Still, the discipline has been shaken by interpretations of trade theory that challenge this view, especially when articulated by highly respected scholars such as the late Paul Samuelson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The persistence of high long-term unemployment - conveniently assumed out of existence by standard trade models - has also taken an ideological toll. Economists once celebrated the resilience of the United States labor market. Not any more. Employment remains lower than it was in December 2007.

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Keywords: international trade, supply chain management, logistics & supply chain, free-trade agreements, tariffs, manufacturing job loss