FTAs: Farcical Trade Agreements

03-31-2014 • therawreport.org

With the advent of trading blocs such as the European Union, NAFTA and APEC, many so-called Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have been agreed upon. Though these deals have undoubtedly done much good, many protectionist policies that hinder true free trade remain in place. So how free is “free trade”? First, let it be understood that free trade does not originate from government. It is the natural state of things as it arises spontaneously in a free society; a manifestation of the human tendency to cooperate and trade in ways that benefit all parties involved. Divisions related to such things as race, nationality, religion, political persuasion, and sexual orientation don’t naturally come into play until politicians and other control freaks create or emphasize them. That said, if people in government were so inclined they could of course embody this natural state of affairs in some sort of statement, much like the Bill of Rights did. Still, this would merely represent the recognitio