Yet again (yeah, it's standard) the WSJ refers to the selective protectionism pursued by the United States in its trade policy as "free trade." Yes, tens of millions of people are upset about policies that are designed to put manufacturing workers in direct competition with low-paid workers in China and Mexico. The trade agreements allow doctors, lawyers, economists and other highly paid professionals to remain largely protected from such competition. The latter group are obviously knuckle-scraping Neanderthals who fear the global economy. But, this group also has enormous political power, so trade agreements don't get written that make them face competition in the same way as auto or steel workers. It will be a huge step forward when this situation is discussed more honestly in the media.
--Dean Baker