"No nation was ever ruined by trade," stated Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century. Franklin's maxim is just as true today as it was in the 18th century in that trade is enriching nearly all nations today. In the past ten years free trade has done more to alleviate poverty than any well-intentioned law, regulation, or social policy in history. Even the United States benefits from opening its markets to free trade. Two epochal forces are sweeping the world today: the spread of new technology and the spread of free markets. Their combined effect has been to let capital, labor, and production move more freely across borders. This freedom of movement has allowed for a more efficient allocation of resources, which has made for a more productive, wealthy world. Globalization has brought far away communities across the world closer together. It has brought Internet access to Rwanda, CNN to Azerbaijan, Japanese investors to the U.S. It has also brought unprecedented wealth and economic activity. The world is richer than ever, and increased free global trade is one of the main reasons. The United States has many sources of power in the pursuit of its goals. The global economy demands economic liberalization, greater openness and transparency, and at the very least, accesses to information technology. International economic policies that leverage the advantages of the American economy and expand free trade are the decisive tools in shaping international politics. They permit us to reach out to states as varied as South Africa and India and to engage our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere in a shared interest in economic prosperity.
             The pro-free-trade camp in this country has tried to sell free trade generally, and the WTO in particular, because free trade in other countries is a good idea. When other countries drop their trade barriers, American companies export more, and consequently create more export-related jobs. All true enough, ...