Question

Why would the US be more concerned about trade restrictions rather than employing free trade among all countries? What are your thoughts here?

Answer 1

Trade restrictions protect domestic industries and workers from foreign competition by raising the prices of imported goods.

Free trade means goods are bought and sold freely between nations without much government interference. Manufacturers get benefits from free trade by making right kind of goods and setting a right price for their products. Manufacturers earn a reasonable profit, consumers pay right and a high amount of new wealth is generated and distributed throughout the globe.

But the negative effects of free trade are many. Due to free trade manufacturers close their domestic plants in order to get cheaper products from other country. Thousands of workers lost their jobs. Also domestic companies move their operations to places where environmental restriction is weak, where labor law is not strict, where environmental pollution law is relaxed to some extent or where fire safety standards for factories are not enforced. This leads to exploitation of child laborers and an unsafe environment burden for citizens of other countries where regulation is not strict for these manufacturers.

US government is more concerned about the domestic workers, it gives importance to its citizen's interest. If the government is allowing free trade then the domestic workers are the most sufferers. Manufacturers will earn profits by importing cheap goods from other countries. They will not produce goods with the help of domestic workers, instead they will shift their production activities to some other countries where relevant restrictions are weak. This will kill the earnings of the domestic workers. So to protect domestic workers and force the manufacturers to produce inside the country, it is necessary for the US government to give importance to trade restrictions rather than allowing free trade. Although free trade brings development for the country but there should be certain restrictions to trade in order to safeguard the earnings of domestic people.