By Brett LinleyCONTRIBUTOR
There is arguably no single issue that has a larger effect on the lives of those in a globalized economy than international trade. Whether perceived as good or bad, there’s no returning it to the box from whence it came. With this in mind, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is paving the way for a new American future.
Perhaps the most common attack on a deal that very few critics have actually read is that it will harm the American worker.
Putting aside the tunnel vision that would have us neglect other citizens of the world whose lives cannot compare to the American standard of living, it is a patently false claim. The main objective of TPP is to open up borders by removing trade restrictions that actually harm Americans. Such barriers are felt on two levels.
First, the American consumer is worse off because they are denied access to potentially cheaper foreign goods of comparable or even superior quality.
Second, American businesses are effectively denied access to foreign markets through their own tariffs or regulatory burdens on foreign capital.
When trade is liberalized, it is ultimately a huge net benefit. However, as with any policy, there will undeniably be losers. The question remaining is who. We can choose enterprises that have survived merely on the basis of government fiat, or those that can most effectively supply the goods demanded by an international population.
Free trade economists argue that free-trade zones like the TPP, including only a specific number of countries, merely divert trade from areas outside of the zones as opposed to creating new trade. While this is an interesting idea, it is arguably irrelevant.
The ultimate point of analysis is whether or not people’s lives are improving. Within TPP countries, this will certainly be answered in the affirmative. For other countries, there will be an incentive to join the agreement down the road and eliminate their own tariffs to stay internationally competitive and promote a free, fair society.
At the end of the day, imperfect markets are better than imperfect authoritarianism. For once, the public is seeing bipartisan action on something that improves American welfare. Time will tell if governments of the world have the guts to act on it.
Brett Linley is the president of Hofstra Students for Liberty.
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