In a speech last fall, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan hailed the competition and change they bring as key to wealth creation and higher living standards. Advocates of free trade say the U.S. has much to gain from trade talks. Already it has one of the most open economies in the world. Still, many Americans are uneasy. An national survey of 1,200 Americans conducted by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes found a sizable majority support free trade, but 44 percent fear lower wages and job losses and 78 percent want environmental and labor protections tacked on to future trade pacts.
Support deteriorates down the income ladder.
Trepidation among some groups is understandable. The U.S., for the most part, trades with other advanced nations such as France and Germany. Imports from poor economies such as Bangladesh and Zambia make up less than 3 percent of the value of U.S. goods and services. But long-held economic theory predicts that as countries trade, they specialize in what they're best at. Virginia Postrel, head of the Reason Foundation, a free-market think tank in California, says the pace of change will make traditional rivalries between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives increasingly irrelevant.