Debating Free Trade and the Populist Backlash

The benefits of free trade have been a cornerstone of economic thought for decades. Recently, though, trade agreements have become the target of a populist backlash, with opposition to trade deals emerging as a key issue in the presidential race. At the same time, new research suggests that trade led to lower wages and higher unemployment for some Americans, particularly middle-class manufacturing workers. We asked Bloomberg View columnists Tyler Cowen and Noah Smith to meet online to debate the pros and cons of trade.

Cowen: Given slow middle-class wage growth, it’s a common claim that American politicians oversold the benefits of trade deals to their voters. I take the contrarian view that the benefits of trade deals are more typically underappreciated.