Free trade is a policy by which governments do not discriminate against imports or exports. Free trade is exemplified by the European Union / European Economic Area and the North American Free Trade

Free trade.

Free trade is a policy by which governments do not discriminate against imports or exports. Free trade is exemplified by the European Union / European Economic Area and the North American Free Trade Agreement, which have established open markets with very few restrictions to trade. Most nations are today members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) multilateral trade agreements. However, most governments still impose some protectionist policies that are intended to support local employment, such as applying tariffs to imports or subsidies to exports. Governments may also restrict free trade to limit exports of natural resources. Other barriers that may hinder trade include import quotas, taxes, and non-tariff barriers, such as regulatory legislation.

Free trade policies generally promote the following features:

· Trade of goods without taxes (including tariffs) or other trade barriers (e.g., quotas on imports or subsidies for producers)

· Trade in services without taxes or other trade barriers

· The absence of "trade-distorting" policies (such as taxes, subsidies, regulations, or laws) that give some firms, households, or factors of production an advantage over others

· Unregulated access to markets

· Unregulated access to market information

· Inability of firms to distort markets through government-imposed monopoly or oligopoly power

· Trade agreements which encourage free trade.

Opinion of economists

The literature analysing the economics of free trade is extremely rich with extensive work having been done on the theoretical and empirical effects. Though it creates winners and losers, the broad consensus among economists is that free trade is a large and unambiguous net gain for society.

Трещев Егор 10а.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04