Free Trade

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how free trade tends to benefit those who are already wealthy and in many cases threatens to increase income disparity in developing and wealthy countries. The paper notes benefits of free trade but discusses how workers lose in the short run by the reduced dependence on local economies, the shifting labor pools to large multinational corporations and the low wage rate paid to workers in developing nations. The paper concludes that free trade and the global market economy can benefit individuals, their communities and whole regions of the world if there is a more ethical environment where small business growth and development is encouraged and the plight of women is improved.

From the Paper:

"Free trade impacts every level of the global economy and has a particularly strong impact on the economies of developing nations and small communities. However, the wealthiest nations in the world stand to gain as much if not more so than their poorer counterparts. Wealthy nations control vast amounts of wealth, political power, and natural resources. The G8's clout ensures that free trade is not an egalitarian or just global economic system. If it were, small independent businesses and entrepreneurs around the world would have greater access to foreign markets and foreign direct investment. As it stands, free trade benefits mainly those corporations that already control a substantial portion of the global market. Moreover, larger corporations can take advantage of international and regional free trade agreements in ways smaller firms cannot: through the mobilization of people, goods and services."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Free Trade, Growth, and Convergence." Retrieved Feb 24, 2008 from http://www.nber.org/digest/jan98/w6095.html
• World Trade Organization (WTO) (2000). "Free trade helps reduce poverty, says new WTO secretariat study." Press Release. Retrieved Feb 24, 2008 from http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres00_e/pr181_e.htm

More papers on Free Trade:

• Persuasive Essay # 113203 : "Is Free Trade Fair Trade?"
• Persuasive Essay # 133921 : "Free Trade and World Hunger"
• Analytical Essay # 139788 : "Multi-lateral Agreements and Free Trade Zones"
• Persuasive Essay # 32492 : "Impact of Free Trade on Canada"

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