Many voices on the far left and the far right are calling for raising tariffs or imposing quotas. But they fail to point out that tariffs are essentially import taxes which add substantially to the price of products. They further ignore the fact that quotas limit imports, which raises prices and lowers competition. Another often-misunderstood issue is the role of imports. Expanded imports encourage domestic firms to improve productivity, lower prices, and improve quality.
Imports also help keep inflation low and expand the purchasing power of families.
Contrary to the rhetoric from many labor union officials, free trade benefits workers. Employment in any economy is determined by the strength of aggregate demand, private and public. Lowering prices and improving consumers living standards spur economic growth and consumer demand. Over 12 million U.S. jobs depend on trade. Over a third of our agricultural products are exported and one of every six new jobs created in the United States since 1992 is export-related.