Free trade agreements are more harmful than helpful

My arguments will consist of rebuttals and concluding statements. R1: Free Trade INCREASES Prosperity Trade Surplus or Current Account Surplus Pro shows a graph – the United States has a negative goods balance. This is accurate. But this ignores the other half of the coin – the positive financial account balance. The flow of funds between two countries must equal out. If the Chinese end up with more Dollars (through their current account surplus), they have no option besides either buying U. S. exports or buying U. S. financial assets… in either way, it is mathematically impossible for the United States to have both a trade deficit and a financial account deficit. The U. S. currently benefits from free trade in many ways, such as the flows of capital investment. Jobs “Factories in America closed, entire industries declined, and millions of goods jobs moved offshore. ” First, the United States has the most productive manufacturing industry in the world. [1] Free trade will allow us to capitalize on this advantage. We will be able to export high value-added goods and services, and import labor-intensive goods such as textiles. We don't want these jobs, we want jobs that will support a vibrant middle class and the American Dream. If we are stuck with self-sufficiency, the hopes and dreams of our people will fade. Second, trade allows U. S. firms to lower their input costs, which supports investment and job creation domestically. Third, the United States is the most attractive nation in the world for investment. Fourth, trade is allowing the United States to specialize in highly valuable capital-intensive products. When Pro says “millions of good jobs” were outsourced, what source is he using? The vast majority of “outsourcing” occurs when U. S. firms invest to meet foreign demand. Over 75% of the time U. S. businesses invest in nations in Europe and wealthy countries to meet demand there. [2] Were “millions of good jobs were outsourced” to places like China and Mexico? Are jobs leaving because of lax regulations and low wages? No. The United States is specializing in capital-intensive final goods, whether this includes chemicals, vehicles, aircraft, or advanced manufacturing. Trade is vital for our national economy because it allows American firms to be competitive – firms can import affordable inputs and integrate them into their supply chain. If we cut off free trade, American firms will have higher costs, and this will kill jobs, innovation, and America’s economic growth. Jobs that have moved abroad are low-skill jobs, such as making textiles or light manufactured goods. America will be more prosperous if we can use our labor for productive goods, such as vehicles, engineering, health care, and natural gas extraction. If we cut off trade, we will instead be forced to make our own underwear and socks, and we will have a smaller and less efficient economy as a consequence. Wages “Trade deficits… have drawn workers into less-profitable fields of work” American wages have steadily increased, but the debate isn’t about this topic. The United States is the best place in the world for investment, a consequence of our infrastructure, rule of law, functioning government, and skilled workforce. Free trade is allowing the United States to export northwards of $1 trillion a year in areas like cars, integrated circuits, medical instruments, and computers [3]. The idea that companies will take high value-added jobs to places with a less educated workforce and a less developed country is ludicrous. It would be a poor business decision. R2: Economic Benefits “Small-businesses say they’ve been hurt by free-trade agreements. ” There is an obvious flaw in this – if a small business has to cut prices to remain competitive, it technically has been “hurt”, but the consumer benefits. Pro doesn’t respond to the claim that Americans save over $2,000 a year because of cheaper imports. “Free trade… outlaws ‘buy local’ policies” Free trade is when goods and services can freely flow across international borders with minimal governmental intervention. If consumers support products such as liquid natural gas, “safe” food, or generic medications, they wouldn’t be harmed by free trade. Consumers are free to purchase local goods, it is up to the consumer's discretion. “Free trade lowers wages. ” Pro’s source – if this is considered accurate – shows a pay reduction of up to 0.5%. For the average American, the benefit of cheaper imports would offset the wage reduction by a factor of 5 [4] [5]. “Free trade lowers the safety standards of imported food products. ” If consumers are concerned that a producer is being frivolous and providing a shoddy quality, competition will help whittle down the number of producers, to those providing cheap food and those providing high-quality food and everything in between. “Free trade has cost nearly 700,000 jobs” These figures have been heavily questioned. The economic model is linear – i. e. it assumes higher imports means fewer jobs and vice-versa [2]. However, the “correlation between imports and GDP is a strongly positive 62%” (with exports, the correlation is 45%). [6] Therefore, this statistic is ludicrous. Higher imports help the economy too by providing more affordable consumer goods and less costly inputs. In addition, U. S. jobs are created throughout U. S. firms’ supply chains. Benefits of Trade Economic efficiency skyrockets as nations specialize (lower opportunity costs) More affordable consumer goods Expanded consumer choice and diversity Lower costs of production – strengthens U. S. firms Job creation (exports, international investment, more consumer spending) Trade surplus or Capital surplus Technological innovation and economic development (1) Pro never responded that economists almost all agree that free trade is beneficial(2) Pro never responded that free trade tends to foster peace and democracyTrade allows firms to shop around for inputs, which allows production to expand and prices to fall. National economies can thrive as they can specialize where they have a comparative advantage (where they have a niche), and the benefits of efficiency and dramatically larger markets ripple throughout the country. The majority of U. S. imports are inputs that are later used in the production cycle. Therefore, if we restrict trade, we will without doubt raise the costs for U. S. producers, which will cut into profits, cut back on production, and reduce jobs in the United States, as well as effectively raising taxes on the average American by about $2,000. The United States is the best place in the world to do business. We have the most to gain from trade. About 95% of the world’s consumers live outside our borders, if we close off or shut down our borders, we will suffer from more expensive goods, weaker U. S. firms, reduced aggregate supply, less consumer choice, and other consequences. Sources (unsourced facts were referenced in previous rounds) [1] . http://www.nam.org... [2] . http://www.cato.org... [3] . https://atlas.media.mit.edu... [4] . http://www.ssa.gov... [5] The 0.5% reduction would mean about $448 less in income for the average worker. The $2,000 in savings offsets this by roughly a factor of 5. [6] . http://www.cato.org...