The American Apparel Manufacturers Association has plans to monitor factories. Proposals for change must be realistic. Some of the proposals call for such drastic change that the likelihood of something happening is diminished. Firms who had joined the Fair Labor Association are now dropping out because they feel they will be non-competitive if they adhere to some of the proposals and their competition does not. Mr. Sweeney and I disagree on the importance of trade to increasing standards of living.
Most business people feel the only way to improve standards of living is by a growing economy.
Almost all economists agree that increasing trade leads to increased standards of living. Yet, the AFL-CIO has tended to resist moves to increase trade on the grounds that imports will undermine U.S. wages. Many special interest groups want to place conditions on trade agreements environmentalists, human rights advocates, labor unions, etc. All have admirable goals, but the practical effect is that the more conditions required, the less likely an agreement can be negotiated. It's also true that people will pay more for a product if they have a reason.