International Trade

Voluntary, open international trade is bad because it costs domestic jobs:
This true statement, is a current reality because, "trade create loser." (pg. 275) According to Charles Wheelan, "If a worker in Maine earns $14 an hour for something that can be in in Vietnam for $1 an hour, then he had better be 14 times as productive. If  not, a profit-maximizing firm will choose Vietnam." (pg. 2675) Essentially, open international trade promotes out-of-country labor. Usually, foreign workers can produce a good for a cheaper cost, because of their lower living standards, in this example Vietnam. And unless the domestic production can make sufficiently more of the product, it would be irrational for a company to use that producer, like in Maine. The profit-maximizing, or most efficient business, will always choose the foreign production because it costs less to manufacture. Therefore, international trade is bad because it deprives domestic workers of their jobs.