Free Trade is better for American society than Protectionism

1. Free Trade Undermines Policies for the Social GoodYes, free trade is an agreement between countries, but I am talking about the consequences of actions. True, free trade does not regulate how countries are supposed to dictate their domestic policies, but that is the problem. Since in free trade favors the cheapest production it gives countries financial incentive to not enact laws dealing with labor unions, environmental protection, minimum wage, etc. This does happen in countries we have free trade with such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic still uses child labor [1] If the US enacts Protectionism will it make goods produced by child labor more expense; therefore, it will be less bought. It will also favor Domestic products which would fund American jobs and the economy which is better for American society than free trade.It does make countries play on the same field because it raises the prices of products that doesn't use policies such as abolishing child labor, or environmental protection. Just because a country uses free trade doesn't make protectionism not make countries on the same field like my opponent claims. As far as causing imperialism free trade is great for that from the Opium Wars, and Banana Wars. American markets are not uncompetitive since we have anti-trust laws. Further, Protectionism doesn't mean that no trade will take place it just means countries using unfair practices will pay the price when they export their products. Korean cars would still have made its way to the United States, so claiming it will make it uncompetitive is false. If corporate profits are better under protectionism that means more people are buying domestic products which means more American Jobs which is better for American society."As underdeveloped countries attempt to cut costs to gain a price advantage, many workers in these countries face low pay, substandard working conditions and even forced labor and abusive child labor. This “race to the bottom,” as critics call this drive to cut costs at the expense of human rights, is a key target of protests aimed at the WTO. Yet the WTO states it does not consider a manufacturer’s treatment of workers reason for countries to bar importation of that manufacturer's products. The WTO notes developing countries insist any attempt to include working conditions in trade agreements is meant to end their cost advantage in the world market." [3]2. Free Trade causes job lossEven if the products are inferior it still results in job loss, so I don't see the point of this. A feeble 2 million? That is still a huge number and deserve attention. The interest of the mass is worth more than the few? This same reason was used to justify all sorts of horrible things like the Holocaust, Segregation, etc. The minority deserves protection too. Consumption would not fall because more people would be domestically employed and those people would be buying more domestic products. Poverty would decrease because jobs would be moving back into America because it could be cheaper for companies to produce the products here, which results in more employment, which results in less poverty. It isn't the skilled jobs that are being outsourced anyways it is the jobs the impoverished would take, meaning free trade is actually worse for the impoverished Americans. 3. Free Trade causes Trade DeficitsTrade deficits are bad because it only increases our huge national debt. Yes, free trade is employing a lot of Mexicans, but at the cost of American Jobs. This means free trade is worse for American society than protectionism. This point still stands.4. Free Trade creates undesirable interdependencyBusts will happen in an economy, but global depressions would be avoided. When the recent depression happened global trade fell significantly. [2] This resulted in the biggest depression since the 1930s. Free trade makes a domino effect; once one economy falls it takes all the others down. Also, it could lead to bullying. If a country is dependent on another country to keep their economy they are effectively subordinate to that country. For political freedom, economic independence is necessary. This requires abandonment of free trade. Just because we can recover from recessions doesn't mean we should not try to avoid them in the first place. The examples of the USSR and Japan are to show countries can avoid a global depression with the right trade policy, and of course Post-World War 2 Japan wasn't self sufficient we wiped 2 of their production cities off the map and firebombed their capital.Sources[1] http://en.wikipedia.org...[2] http://www.voxeu.org...[3] http://smallbusiness.chron.com...