What Does Free Trade Mean?

What does free trade mean?

While it is indeed a badly worded question I think I understand what you are asking. Free trade is the ability of individuals to perform actions, creating products and buying and selling those items without the interference of governments! Unlike our so-called free markets of today, which is not really free, a free market is not controlled by central governments choosing winners and losers by tax and regulatory policy!!!Free markets allow the individual to do that which is in his own best interest so long as it hurts no one else nor prohibits them doing what is in their own best interests

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What do you think of Bush's free trade agreements, he's pushing?

that is how politics "works". that is continually "Kiss my bottom and that i will kiss yours." President Bush needs help for CoFTA so he trades away any degree of problem for the individuals who can ought to pay for the bailouts

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Why did the president contradict himself on free trade? Is he intentionally destroying the economy?

AND you think that this is wrong: (cut & paste from your details) President Barack Obama told fellow leaders that the U.S. cannot just keep borrowing lavishly and sending its money overseas. It needs other countries to buy more exports from the United States and elsewhere so Americans can afford to buy other countries' goods, he said. What do you think HELPED get us in this that we are in. I mean really. The Republican Congress was borrowing 2 BILLION dollars a DAY after they cut the TAXES! Seriously, do you hate that much.

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If Obama is really so concerned about global warming, why doesn't he stop free trade?

He did that with some of the construction projects here. Required them to use steel produced in the US. Pissed off the other countries though.

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Free trade zones

The member nations can have commercial free-trade zones, industrial free-trade zones, export processing zones, and special customs areas, all of which target providing merchandise marketed or produced in these areas with treatment different from that afforded in their respective customs territories. Uruguay's Vice-President Danilo Astori said the issue of a free trade agreement with the United States must be dealt and that "opportunities must be built". He also said that "each Mercosur country should have a multiplicity of memberships. Mercosur must have joint international policies, an agreement on moderate protection from third parties and above all must have agreements with other trade blocks". TariffsThe member states can assess merchandise from these areas with the common external tariff used for Mercosur merchandise, or, in the case of certain special products, the domestic tariff prevailing in each individual state. In this way, the products from the free-trade zones can have the more favorable tax treatment established under Southern Common Market, given to the merchandise produced in the normal customs zones of each member state or, in the case of certain special products, can have the normal customs treatment prevailing in each nation. Products coming from outside of Mercosur are highly taxed so that local companies do not feel the need to compete with large international companies. SafeguardsProducts produced or marketed in the free-trade zones of each member nation will be eligible for the safeguard system whenever this entails an increase not provided for in imports, but capable of causing damages or threatened damages to the importer country. IncentivesIn the event of the producing nation's granting special incentives for production from the free-trade zones that are not compatible with the corresponding guidelines established under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the member nation can make any adjustments needed to return the situation to equilibrium. CreationThe member nations agreed that any free-trade zones that in August 1994 were already in operation could operate normally under Mercosur, along with any that are set up in light of legal guidelines prevailing or in course in congress during this same time period. This means that a member nation can no longer create new free-trade zones that are more privileged. Mercosur is an effective agreement for its members. Manaus and Tierra del Fuego FTZsThe actual implementation of Mercosur will not affect the special Manaus, Brazil, and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, free-trade zones organized in light of their special geographic situations. These two free-trade zones may continue normal operations until 2013.