Free Trade, anyone ?

[OFSO]

I was quite annoyed last night by a TV feature on France 24, a report on world trade highlighting in particular USA's Bethleham steel, and how it's gone bust as the US steel industry has been "exported" to China. (Same thing has happened in the UK). Families of former workers, many of them intelligent and thoughtful, expressed views on the price we pay for allowing free trade.

The report then crossed to the Secretary-General of the World Trade Organisation, Roberto Azevêdo who was saying how important free trade is and how all barriers to free trade should be eliminated.

I wonder: Mr Secretary-General, go and look at the jobless families in Bethleham (and Swansea in the UK) and ask them how they feel about "no trade barriers" which enable imports from countries with low wages, low (or an absence of) health and safety regulations, no social security etc. to produce goods at costs with which no civilised country can compete.