May 13, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States think free trade policies have not been beneficial to their country, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 48 per cent of respondents believe commerce pacts like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the policies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are bad for the U.S., while 35 per cent disagree.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States think free trade policies have not been beneficial to their country, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 48 per cent of respondents believe commerce pacts like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the policies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are bad for the U.S., while 35 per cent disagree.

In 1993, NAFTA brought Mexico into the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the U.S. that had been in place since 1989. A proposal to create the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)—encompassing 34 countries in North, Central and South America—has been debated for the past decade.

In May 2004, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua agreed to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the U.S. The Dominican Republic followed suit in August.

On May 6, U.S. president George W. Bush and his Panamanian counterpart, Martín Torrijos, urged American lawmakers to ratify a bilateral commerce deal. Bush declared: "The Panamanian free trade vote is a priority of this government. It is—it should be a priority of the United States Congress."

Yesterday, Republican Iowa senator Chuch Grasley urged the U.S. Congress to pass a pending free trade agreement with Colombia, saying, "There is no downside. (Colombian president Álvaro) Uribe has made massive strides towards decreasing violence.[

Polling Data

In general, do you think that free trade agreements—like NAFTA, and the policies of the World Trade Organization—have been a good thing or a bad thing for the United States?

Good Thing	35%
Bad Thing	48%
Unsure	17%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,502 American adults, conducted from Apr. 23 to Apr. 27, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.