Buchanan, sole voice against free trade?

Max Sawicky sawicky at epinet.org
Tue Mar 2 08:46:59 PST 1999



>
> Max, has EPI or the AFL-CIO done any polling on free
> trade? The anti-free

We don't poll. AFL may have commissioned polls. We do analyze polling data. Rui Teixeira has done reports on public opinion and trade.


> trade position just doesn't seem like a political winner. And
the few polls I've seen show a majority of the U.S. public approving of NAFTA. With 80% of the U.S. labor force employed in services, and so largely immune to international competition, does the anti-free-trade line resonate with the masses as much as it does with the UAW?>

My impression of the polling analysis is that reservations, to put it mildly, about free trade are rife among the non-rich.

As for services, I've never had trouble explaining to service people that their wages can be negatively affected by those of their peers in manufacturing. Would that other stuff was as easy to explain.

mbs



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