The+Debate

Free Trade vs. Fair Trade

__Arguments for Free Trade:__
 * Supporting Free Trade would improve the economy of the United States by increasing sales and profits.
 * Free Trade would create more middle-class jobs.
 * Free Trade offers more raw materials at a lower price so as to cut the cost of production and lower to price of the actual product as well.

__Arguments against Free Trade:__
 * The number of higher wage jobs would decline.
 * Free Trade in the United States has affected other countries negatively.
 * The deals created in support of Free Trade are not equally divided in terms of exporting goods and the number sold.

With Free Trade, the United States benefits from these agreements as it improves the overall economy and provides companies with access to raw materials at a lower price. The price of supporting Free Trade is the loss of jobs at a higher status and affecting other countries' workers who are mistreated as a result of being part of the Free Trade society.

__Arguments for Fair Trade:__
 * Fair Trade sets up stable prices that ensure all stages of business with the product an equal share in the profits.
 * By supporting Free Trade, this also helps the environment because the farmers are required to follow the laws that deal with protecting the environment.
 * Fair Trade allows producers to earn more profit in order to further establish themselves in the world market.

__Arguments against Fair Trade:__  Fair trade stabilizes the market with set prices and supports each person who handles the product from the farmer to the consumer. The negatives side of Free Trade is that the low set price encourages oversupply which would lower the price even further. Besides this, only a small group of farmers have reported to have benefited from Fair Trade agreements.
 * In the event that there is too much of one product (oversupply), that price will drop.
 * Fair Trade only supports a small amount of farmers who have the luxury of higher prices.
 * Fair Trade assists the landowners instead of the laborers in the fields.

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 * __Continuing the debate:__**

Which type of trade is better and why?

Do the positives of free trade outweigh the negatives?

Do the positives of fair trade outweigh the negatives?

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