Free trade and the environment

[Tero]

I've bee accused of blindly following Hillary's free borders policy.

Personally, I have nothing against free trade, goods going anywhere as needed. If it leaves some areas under-used for agriculture, that may be bad in the long run.

However, the one part I do object to is ruining the environment of areas where say mining takes place or adding to CO2 emissions due to old poorly planned factories.

https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/en ... pact_e.htm

So unlike Trump, I would not negotiate trade deals based on financial issues (almost impossible, the prices are what they are due to competition), but would put in some legal language demanding improvements in working conditions and the environment. Some things we will need to shop for world wide to get the most environmentally friendly supplier. And pay MORE. Not as much as making it here, but more.

[pErvinalia]

This is the idea behind the concept of fair trade. By ensuring that offshore factories have defensible worker rights and safety standards, the comparative advantage of trade then becomes about sizes of economies, not exploitation of really poor people. By doing this, we in the west still get cheaper products, but not at such a level that it would totally destroy home grown manufacture. Well, that's the theory, anyway.

[Tero]

Right.

... that it would totally destroy home grown manufacture.

I have to not use the phone so much. On the phone it looked like manure. They can all keep their manure for local use.