Title: The Benefits of Free Trade: Addressing Key Myths | Mercatus Center
Headings: The Benefits of Free Trade: Addressing Key Myths
The Benefits of Free Trade: Addressing Key Myths
The Truths of Free Trade
Myth vs. Reality

Content: When everyone follows the same rules-based system, there is less opportunity for cronyism, or the ability of participating nations to skew trade advantages toward favored parties. In the absence of such a system, bigger and better-connected industries can more easily acquire unfair advantages, such as tax and regulatory loopholes, which shield them from competition. Myth vs. Reality
1. Myth: More exports mean more wealth. Reality: It is the total level of trade—exports and imports—that most accurately reflects American prosperity. Prosperity is defined by the breadth and variety of what Americans are able to consume. More exports increase wealth only because they allow Americans to buy more imports and give non-Americans greater incentives to invest in America, helping the US economy grow. Restricting imports leaves Americans worse off.