October 22, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States express mixed feelings about global commerce, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 41 per cent of respondents think free trade is good for the U.S., while 31 per cent deem it bad.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States express mixed feelings about global commerce, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 41 per cent of respondents think free trade is good for the U.S., while 31 per cent deem it bad.

In 1993, the North American Free Trade Agreement (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.

Earlier this month, U.S. commerce secretary Carlos Gutierrez called on the U.S. Congress to ratify pending deals, saying, "We need to see a date and see a plan when the Colombian and Panamanian agreements will come up for a vote and that’s what we’re asking for. (...) Without the free trade agreement, what we’ll see is backsliding and that’s not good for the hemisphere and that’s not good for our country."

On Oct. 6, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved a free trade deal with Peru.

Original Release from Rasmussen Reports  

Polling Data

Is free trade good or bad for America?

Good	41%
Bad	31%
Neither	15%

Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,200 American likely voters, conducted from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14, 2007. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.