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Free Trade Doesn't Work

What Should Replace It and Why

The book that anticipated the end of free trade under Trump and Biden

 

We've been told for years that free trade is good for America. This book explains, in terms the average concerned citizen can understand, why it isn't. No nation, including the U.S., ever got rich practicing free trade and cutting-edge economics increasingly understands why. These insights will reshape policy in the years to come. Nonpartisan and suitable for both liberals and conservatives.

Part I:

The Problem

  • Why We Can't Trust the Economists 

  • Deficits, Time Horizons, and Perverse Efficiency

  • Trade solutions that Won't Work

  • Critiques of Free Trade to Avoid

Part II:

The Real Economics of Free Trade

  • Ye Olde Theory of Comparative Advantage

  •  The Deliberately Forgotten History of Trade

  • The Disingenuous Law and Diplomacy of Free Trade

Part III:

The Solution

  • Where Does Growth Really Come From?

  • The Multiple Equilibrium Revolution

  • The Natural Strategic Tariff

  • The End of the Free Trade Coalition

Reviews

"Fletcher has written a powerful and refreshing critique of some cherished assumptions held by mainstream economists.  It is uniformly insightful, often brilliant, and remarkably readable." 

Prof. George C. Lodge 

Professor Emeritus, Harvard Business School

About the Author

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Ian Fletcher is one of America's foremost experts on the problems of free trade. Ian was Senior Economist for the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) from 2010-2012 and is currently a senior advisory board member. CPA is a nationwide grass-roots organization dedicated to fixing America’s trade policies and comprising representatives from business, agriculture, and labor. Prior to his tenure at CPA, Ian was a Research Fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry Council, an economist in private practice, and an IT consultant. Ian regularly participates in economic forums, discussions and debates. His next book, written with Marc Fasteau and entitled Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries, will be published by Cambridge University Press in September 2024. Educated at Columbia and Chicago, he lives in San Francisco.

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