Free trade is used to bamboozle the public.  It’s how the establishment labels agreements to gain popular support.  These so-called reforms are actually calling for mercantilism.  New terms will constantly be invented so people trying to win a popularity contest can call themselves reformers.  What they call free trade is not freedom.  Often, they’ll label it as a partnership between business and state.

The same ones who call this free trade are the same ones who call this a partnership.  It’s just statism.  They might also call government spending as investment.  What is called investment is just consumption.  Of course, this will all fall under the label of freedom.  Don’t forget history.  The communist, too, referred to their system as freedom.  Anything that is actually freedom will be strongly opposed.

These so call free trade agreements wouldn’t require agreements.  Free trade would only require a sentence or two.  It’s in the constitution.  The establishment would oppose it tooth and nail if free trade was actually on the horizon.  The: politicians, pundits, media, intellectuals, and cronies, would tell us how horrible it’ll be for us.  Real free trade would make goods cheaper.  No foreign policy is needed.

Real free trade would be the repeal of tariffs, quotas, dumping laws, and the like.  A phony agreement isn’t required.  Ok, what if we have real free trade and others don’t?  That is like saying someone else shot themselves in the foot so I’m going to do it too.  Harming trade is like shooting the entire country in the foot.  The only ones who benefit from these phony agreements are the state and their friends.

Those that benefit are in league with the state.  Few do benefit at the expense of many.    These so-called free trade agreements are pushed by saying they are spreading democracy.  This is not good.  This leads to some kind of trade war.  This, of course, leads to a bigger conflict, maybe a hot war.  They use words to mean what they want.  Don’t be fooled by catchwords and slogans.  Just as la Rochefoucauld said: Man is like a rabbit, you can catch him by the ears.

Reference

Murray Rothbard; Making Economic Sense