American exports, therefore, increase because the only way for foreigners to buy more from Americans is for Americans to sell more to foreigners. To the extent that foreign governments do subsidize some products sold in the U.S., this means that Americans are able to buy them below what would have otherwise been the market price. In other words, we are given a bargain , a bargain that saves us resources that would have been devoted to the making of more products to pay for what otherwise would have been higher-priced imports. And these resources are now available to make other things that we would not have been able to produce without this bargain. It is the citizens of those other nations who should be outraged since they, not us, have to foot the tax bill to pay for the subsidies.
Foreign products cause loss of jobs .
This argument ignores the fact that these foreign goods must be paid for. It is true that jobs in those sectors of the economy which directly compete against certain foreign products may be lost. But other jobs are created in those industries which manufacture goods which foreigners are interested in purchasing from Americans. The sale of foreign goods in America may change the locale and types of employments in the U.S., but it need not result, over time, in any net loss of jobs. Furthermore, with free trade, Americans end up spending less of their income on certain products because they are bought more cheaply from foreign suppliers.