This is not the free market. The benefits of free trade are obvious. The proposition is so very manifest, that it seems ridiculous to take any pains to prove it.
Free trade increases the common good and reduces the role of government.
It enlarges the division of labor, and thus the general prosperity. It benefits all nations who engage in it, no matter how backward or advanced, and fosters amity among them. But this is not what Washington has in mind. Fifteen Latin countries have signed up, and 13 Caribbean countries have agreed to a related scheme. Some Mexicans fear U.S. political control of their country.