Main arguments for and against free trade.

What is it about?

Trade is more or less free depending on the degree to which it is subject to constraints like tariffs, quotas, rules, or regulations. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and other (e.g., bilateral and multilateral) trade agreements encourage freer trade amongst countries. Other international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also encourage countries to (amongst other things) liberalize trade in hard goods, services, and money. Free trade is perhaps the center piece of economic globalization. There is very little work in the global justice literature on free trade. The public debate and interdisciplinary literature on the topic is, however, enormous. So, this entry will canvas just a few of the main arguments for and against free trade in the interdisciplinary literature. It will suggest that one reason why few of those working on global justice have considered the general case for or against free trade is that it is very difficult...

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