Nu hotas frihandeln

Två framstående amerikanska samhällsdebattörer, Roger C. Altman och Richard N. Haass argumenterar i NY Times för frihandelsavtalet med 11 asiatiska länder (40% av världsekonomin), TPP. Om det inte kommer till stånd kommer inte heller det tänkta avtalet med EU, TTIP, att bli verklighet:

Free trade leads to greater overall prosperity. The gains from free trade need to be widely shared, but defeating the TPP would not solve America’s problems with inequality. Instead, it would further rattle our allies. “Further” is the key word here, as there already are rising doubts about American reliability — the result of the debt-ceiling crises, government shutdowns, the failure to follow through on threats in Syria and, most recently, the letter addressed to Iran from 47 senators. If the TPP fails, countries that, rightly or wrongly, see Washington as ineffective will pay America less heed.

It’s reasonable to debate the merits of this major trade agreement. But the critics have exaggerated and distorted the economic costs of the accord, while all but ignoring its benefits — and the strategic costs of a rejection. The real choice is between supporting a trade accord that would help most Americans and serve the country’s strategic aims, and defeating it, which would leave the country poorer and the world less stable.