What do you think?
Rate this book
Free Trade Doesn't Work
"Uniformly insightful, often brilliant, and remarkably readable. Obama's team should read it - and soon. -George C. Lodge, professor emeritus, Harvard Business School " If people will listen, Fletcher's informed voice will help turn the country toward a more promising future. -William Greider, author of Come Home, The Rise and Fall (and Redeeming Promise) of Our Country. " This book is an excellent introduction to these realities and what can be done about them. -Dan DiMicco, Chairman and CEO, Nucor Steel Corporation; author of Steeling America's a CEO's Call to Arms. " This book will be an essential guide to the emerging debate over the wisdom of 'free trade' as a sound policy. -Patrick A. Mulloy, Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; former Assistant Secretary of Commerce. "Ian Fletcher has laid out a powerful critique of so-called 'free trade' theory. -John J. Sweeney, former President, AFL-CIO; author, America Needs a Raise. "A very powerful, passionate, and convincing critique of free trade in an accessible and engaging manner. -Ha-Joon Chang, Cambridge University, author, Kicking away the Ladder. "Up-to-date, comprehensive and very readable. -Jeff Faux, Distinguished Fellow, Economic Policy Institute; author, The Global Class War. "A devastating and powerful indictment of free trade economics. -Gavin Fridell, author, Fair Trade Coffee. This book is aimed at ordinary concerned citizens. It examines why free trade is slowly bleeding America's economy to death and what can be done. It explains why the economics free traders use is false, and what kind of economics justifies protectionism instead. It is critical of the current establishment, but from a bipartisan point of view, so it should satisfy progressives, conservatives, and everyone in between. See www.freetradedoesntwork.com for more information.
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
48 people are currently reading
637 people want to read
About the author
Ian Fletcher
3 books17 followersIan Fletcher is on the advisory board of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a 2.7-million-member organization dedicated to fixing America's trade and industrial policies and comprising representatives from business, agriculture, and labor. He is the author of Free Trade Doesn’t Work, coauthor of The Conservative Case against Free Trade, and coauthor of Industrial Policy for the United States. He has been senior economist at the Coalition, a research fellow at the US Business and Industry Council, an economist in private practice, and an IT consultant. He was educated at Columbia and Chicago and lives in San Francisco.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 17, 2013
I first approached this book wearing my skeptic's hat. I had the idea that free trade had pretty much won in the world, and that protectionists were merely members of the economic fringe. Fletcher resolved this prejudice via a few hundred pages of clear, level-headed and surprisingly accessible prose.
We begin with Part 1: "The Problem." When, where and why does free trade fail? What are the common fallacious arguments given in support of unrestricted trade, and how can we effectively counteract them? From the start, Fletcher works to make clear that he is not out to overthrow capitalism or plunge the US economy into isolation.
Not what you expected from a book with such a title, right?
Part 2 delves into the economics and history of free trade. I was worried that this section might be too technical for someone like me with nothing more than a semester of economics study, but Fletcher makes an effort to stay extremely down-to-earth. This section contains a fascinating attack on "Ye Olde Theory of Comparative Advantage," along with detail on exactly how free trade hurts the nations who engage in it (excepting the nations who only pretend to engage in it).
Part 3 is a summary and a call to action. It suggests a "natural strategic tariff," and evaluates the economic and political consequences (domestic and foreign) of such a change. We end with an overview of recent political events that involve free trade.
The following campaign trail quotes are fairly amusing—if not now, then definitely after you finish the book:
John McCain, with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (2008):
Fletcher compares this "triumphalist" rhetoric with that of British officials of a recently past century, who also championed free trade as their empire crumbled.
Barack Obama in Flint, MI (2008):
First of all: who cheers on free trade in Flint, MI? And who actually believes that our dynamism is sufficient to counter Chinese currency manipulation?
This book has left me confused. I began as a staunch free trader, but I've changed since then without a doubt. In any case, I think it's important that more people read this book. It's important that we revive the debate on free trade, rather than discounting (as I was doing just last month!) the merits of rational protectionism.
We begin with Part 1: "The Problem." When, where and why does free trade fail? What are the common fallacious arguments given in support of unrestricted trade, and how can we effectively counteract them? From the start, Fletcher works to make clear that he is not out to overthrow capitalism or plunge the US economy into isolation.
The fundamental message of this book is that nations, including the U.S., should seek strategic, not unconditional integration with the rest of the world economy.
Not what you expected from a book with such a title, right?
Part 2 delves into the economics and history of free trade. I was worried that this section might be too technical for someone like me with nothing more than a semester of economics study, but Fletcher makes an effort to stay extremely down-to-earth. This section contains a fascinating attack on "Ye Olde Theory of Comparative Advantage," along with detail on exactly how free trade hurts the nations who engage in it (excepting the nations who only pretend to engage in it).
Part 3 is a summary and a call to action. It suggests a "natural strategic tariff," and evaluates the economic and political consequences (domestic and foreign) of such a change. We end with an overview of recent political events that involve free trade.
The following campaign trail quotes are fairly amusing—if not now, then definitely after you finish the book:
John McCain, with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (2008):
The global economy is here to stay. We cannot build walls to foreign competition, and why should we want to? When have Americans ever been afraid of competition? America is the biggest exporter, importer, producer, saver, investor, manufacturer, and innovator in the world. Americans don't run from the challenge of a global economy. We are the world's leaders, and leaders don't fear change, hide from challenges, pine for the past and dread the future. That's why I reject the false virtues of economic isolationism. Any confident, competent government should embrace competition—it makes us stronger—not hide from our competitors and cheat our consumers and workers. We can compete and win, as we always have, or we can be left behind. Lowering barriers to trade creates more and better jobs, and higher wages.
Fletcher compares this "triumphalist" rhetoric with that of British officials of a recently past century, who also championed free trade as their empire crumbled.
Barack Obama in Flint, MI (2008):
There are some who believe that we must try to turn back the clock on this new world; that the only chance to maintain our living standards is to build a fortress around America; to stop trading with other countries, shut down immigration, and rely on old industries. I disagree. Not only is it impossible to turn back the tide of globalization, but efforts to do so can make us worse off. Rather than fear the future, we must embrace it. I have no doubt that America can compete and succeed in the 21st century. And I know as well that more than anything else, success will depend not on our government, but on the dynamism, determination, and innovation of the American people.
First of all: who cheers on free trade in Flint, MI? And who actually believes that our dynamism is sufficient to counter Chinese currency manipulation?
This book has left me confused. I began as a staunch free trader, but I've changed since then without a doubt. In any case, I think it's important that more people read this book. It's important that we revive the debate on free trade, rather than discounting (as I was doing just last month!) the merits of rational protectionism.
February 11, 2016
Been reading this book chapter by chapter on the free time between studying for some IT certifications, so in case any of my friends on here rigorously follow what I'm reading that's why it took me almost two months to finish this book.
This book changed my mind completely on trade and free markets, and does so not from some misguided Marxist perspective, but from a rational, historically minded view of history and economic arguments. To put it shortly: David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage does not work for nations in the 21st century global economy. Rational protectionism is the best policy for America going forward.
Might expand later (ha, right, I never do that.)
This book changed my mind completely on trade and free markets, and does so not from some misguided Marxist perspective, but from a rational, historically minded view of history and economic arguments. To put it shortly: David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage does not work for nations in the 21st century global economy. Rational protectionism is the best policy for America going forward.
Might expand later (ha, right, I never do that.)
February 22, 2017
If all you know about international trade comes either from political discourse or libertarian propaganda, you should read this book. The theoretical economics of free trade are analyzed, every premise is studied in its relation with the real world. No matter who says that ”free trade benefits everyone”, there is not a single reason to believe this is actually true, not even the most simplistic ricardian model allows us to make such stupid claims. Or that free trade is the best policy all the time, everywhere, with everyone. Or that you need open borders and mobility of capital for free trade to work, as globalists want us to believe. Actually, the mobility of capital and people across borders invalidates, if anything, the case for free trade based on comparative advantage, as Ricardo realized back in 1817.
It is astounding how much globalist propaganda has been put down on us in this case, and how serious economists misinform the public opinion on this topic. Paul Samuelson, one of the architects behind the neoclassical model of economics, criticized his former students in 2004 (among which the famous Gregory Mankiw) for having forgotten what he told them at seminaries when they proclaimed how free trade benefit everyone or, at least, that winers can compensate the losers. Marvelous, indeed !
There are also presented some major insights from the last decades, such as Gomory and Baumal s Multiple Equilibria Model, to illustrate how certain protectionist policies could work in practice. The author does advocate a rational form a protectionism: not every tariff works or it is even needed. Every case should be analyzed in particular. It also did a great job convincing me of the truthfulness of his case, a dogmatic free trader until I read this book. It should be stated that this is a book on serious economics and real-world data, not the typical protectionist sophisms one hear of again and again, mostly from libertarian think-tank propaganda trying to construct a nice strawman for their purposes. You also get a brief history of trade so you can see how greatly the benefits of free trade have been exaggerated.
It is astounding how much globalist propaganda has been put down on us in this case, and how serious economists misinform the public opinion on this topic. Paul Samuelson, one of the architects behind the neoclassical model of economics, criticized his former students in 2004 (among which the famous Gregory Mankiw) for having forgotten what he told them at seminaries when they proclaimed how free trade benefit everyone or, at least, that winers can compensate the losers. Marvelous, indeed !
There are also presented some major insights from the last decades, such as Gomory and Baumal s Multiple Equilibria Model, to illustrate how certain protectionist policies could work in practice. The author does advocate a rational form a protectionism: not every tariff works or it is even needed. Every case should be analyzed in particular. It also did a great job convincing me of the truthfulness of his case, a dogmatic free trader until I read this book. It should be stated that this is a book on serious economics and real-world data, not the typical protectionist sophisms one hear of again and again, mostly from libertarian think-tank propaganda trying to construct a nice strawman for their purposes. You also get a brief history of trade so you can see how greatly the benefits of free trade have been exaggerated.
April 9, 2021
Like the Title of this book, Fletcher is no-nonsense and straight to the point with his argumentation. A genuinely non-paritsan take on free trade, Fletcher exposes free trade as an intellectual farce easily, and in an extremely accessible way.
He is at his best in this book when criticizing the ideas of Ricardo and the modern purveyors of his theory. Exposing his theory of comparative advantage and its "Dubious Assumptions" with the most striking being that Ricardians have no place in theory for economic developement, and even according to the arguments own principles can only determine what is most efficient right now.
Though I agreed with fletchers premise from the very beginning, I appreciated the lack of political bias in his argumentation as it makes his book convincing to people all over the political spectrum.
I would highly recommend this book to free-traders and protectionist alike!
He is at his best in this book when criticizing the ideas of Ricardo and the modern purveyors of his theory. Exposing his theory of comparative advantage and its "Dubious Assumptions" with the most striking being that Ricardians have no place in theory for economic developement, and even according to the arguments own principles can only determine what is most efficient right now.
Though I agreed with fletchers premise from the very beginning, I appreciated the lack of political bias in his argumentation as it makes his book convincing to people all over the political spectrum.
I would highly recommend this book to free-traders and protectionist alike!
January 30, 2018
Summary: Free trade theory based on Ricardian comparative advantage rely on a number of assumptions that don't necessarily hold in all cases, such as:
* Assuming immobility of capital (capital may move to the country with lowest wages)
* Assuming that increasing productivity in sectors in other countries will not remove comparative advantages resulting in zero trade
* Assuming that specialisation in industries where a country has short term advantages always give the highest long term growth (may be untrue if specialising in dead ends such as wine growing. Non-dead ends are typically technologically advanced industries with scale economies, which can allow near-monopolies to form, benefiting the host country)
Author suggests a general import tariff of approximately 30% on all goods and services to avoid complicated policy fights over special interests, arguing that it will inherently benefit new small industries more that have not yet reached scale economies and old large industries less.
* Assuming immobility of capital (capital may move to the country with lowest wages)
* Assuming that increasing productivity in sectors in other countries will not remove comparative advantages resulting in zero trade
* Assuming that specialisation in industries where a country has short term advantages always give the highest long term growth (may be untrue if specialising in dead ends such as wine growing. Non-dead ends are typically technologically advanced industries with scale economies, which can allow near-monopolies to form, benefiting the host country)
Author suggests a general import tariff of approximately 30% on all goods and services to avoid complicated policy fights over special interests, arguing that it will inherently benefit new small industries more that have not yet reached scale economies and old large industries less.
March 31, 2013
Fletcher popularizes the fundamental flaws in the free trade model that have developed in the economics profession over recent decades. Absent highly unrealistic, but often unstated, assumptions, free trade theory falls apart. Jettisoning this misleading and economically destructive theory is essential to constructing a just economy.
December 13, 2018
This is a highly thought-provoking and informative book that exposes the underbelly of the doctrine of free trade. In many regards this is a well argued book and points out numerous flaws in America's naive free trade policies under the past few administrations going all the way back to Clinton. You can almost see why someone like Donald Trump was elected when this guy shows what the average American throughout the rust belt understood as it suffered under Clintons NAFTA. This work lays out exhaustive evidence exposing the bankruptcy of the arguments for free-trade. Its stated goal is to give supporters of a balanced national economic policy an arsenal of talking points to counter the prevailing arguments in favor of unrestrained free trade. He supports his argument with extensive documentation, using the most up-to-date sources, including those released in 2011, when the second edition was published. I know of no other author, except for Pat Buchanan, who demonstrates in great detail & with ample evidence how we ought to change course from the globalist free trade approach to a more nationalist approach.
October 7, 2020
From what I could find about the author, he doesn't seem like an academic with any known research publications. What he was able to do though is provide some very good arguments against free trade without going into the math that we'd typically expect on such a topic. In fact he has rightly pointed out that the assumptions that economists make while formulating the math behind the idea of comparative advantage is too simplistic and doesn't deal with the realities we face.
What I liked about this book is it doesn't take any sides on the Right or the Left and points out flaws in arguments on both the sides. And more importantly it doesn't attack anyone. Although I still remain a sceptic on the subject and what I would do is look for any well-known academics' counter-arguments on this book.
What I liked about this book is it doesn't take any sides on the Right or the Left and points out flaws in arguments on both the sides. And more importantly it doesn't attack anyone. Although I still remain a sceptic on the subject and what I would do is look for any well-known academics' counter-arguments on this book.
October 3, 2017
The book does a good job dismantling the broadly held DC pablum that "innovation in ideas", and "entrepreneurship" will be the lynchpin of future economic growth. (They've never been, and its physically impossible for them to be). It also touches on the key myth that widespread rivalry and competition *necessarily* causes innovation.
Good book for exploring in depth why the common sense view of trade is correct rather than the mainstream Ricardo/Bastiat dogma! Minus one star for kind of downplaying colonialism, but thats just something that happens when well meaning people try to parse apart politics and economics.
Good book for exploring in depth why the common sense view of trade is correct rather than the mainstream Ricardo/Bastiat dogma! Minus one star for kind of downplaying colonialism, but thats just something that happens when well meaning people try to parse apart politics and economics.
August 17, 2022
This was a very interesting and readable book about trade and the history of world trade. If an academic economist reads it I imagine they will likely have a meltdown since free trade is akin to a sacred idol in economics.
However, despite not deriving a mathematical model, Fletcher does a good job of presenting various challenges to the dominant free trade paradigm. I enjoyed reading it and believe it would be useful to read even if you disagree with his conclusions.
However, despite not deriving a mathematical model, Fletcher does a good job of presenting various challenges to the dominant free trade paradigm. I enjoyed reading it and believe it would be useful to read even if you disagree with his conclusions.
April 13, 2018
Makes a powerful case for a restrained protectionism. Shows convincingly that, even if free trade were good in theory, it is unworkable and not in the national interest given the current geopolitical situation. His chapter on the forgotten history of trade is particularly helpful.
August 2, 2020
It's simply amazing how many little Stalins are out in the wild. For Fletcher the solution is simple: become more Chinese than China, only than the US will be able to compete better with China. And when some other country, say Libya, becomes the benchmark, than become more Libyan than Libya. Easy.
October 14, 2024
A very clear and approachable summary of the ills of America's economy, albeit it still tries to advocate for solutions with respect to their positions in the "global economy", though to be fair he isn't as paternalistic as you'd expect. The title reads like a long Twitter thread.
9/10
9/10
February 14, 2025
Very interesting and pretty convincing that there are at least some insurmountable issues with anything approaching pure free trade.
February 3, 2025
I have always believed in free markets as bringing the best outcome for the greatest number of people ( Econ 101) ; when coupled with the fact that every market seeks an equilibrium and my not having a lot of sympathy for poor products manufactured by advantaged industries with over priced union labor ( thank you Detroit) , I instinctively believed in free trade . In the case study of Detroit , the short term effect was moving their factories to the non union south . The USA owned the car industry up until Japan started building better and cheaper cars in the 1970’s followed by BMW and Mercedes taking over the top of the market; instead of getting better we sought protection with voluntary tariffs etc .
With that said , I wanted to revisit this subject some 30 years after nafta and with both political parties wanting some form of tariffs either for national security or jobs or for supply chain stability post covid . Mr Fletchers has written a succinct history of trade and presented an excellent case for protecting our manufacturing capability.
Especially in the area of national security . I also started with the belief that the huge trade deficits we have are not good for this country and are ultimately not sustainable.
David Ricardo and Adam Smith never contemplated a world with an inexhaustible supply of cheap labor which by definition blows up the concept of a market equilibrium in labor costs . There is no way to compete with China et al labor costs.
The conundrum is that the USA has hugely benefited from importing goods made with inexpensive labor , holding down inflation over this entire time , but at the cost of wiping out our mfg capabilities which brings us to the question of whose ox is to be gored ? The consumer or the mfg worker ?
How about the pharmaceutical industry which is so heavily subsidized/protected by the US government to the detriment of every US consumer ? Same with agriculture ?
Or that incredible travesty of the domestic sugar industry, protected for “ national security “ reasons ? Or the short sighted Jones Act which wiped out our merchant ship builders?
Do we only protect industry which can persuasively lobby the federal government?
When you sort through all the mess, it becomes a abundantly clear that there’s no such thing as 100% free trade in any country and in this country there never has been per Fletcher . It’s also clear there is little logic to our current system.
Looking at the other side of the coin , we have rung up massive trade deficits with China . To have such a vulnerable position with our largest geopolitical competitor is simply bad judgement. When combined with the reckless deficit spending in DC , we are running up a huge bill and it can not be continued indefinitely. As rich as the USA is and as blessed as we are with natural resources, trees don’t grow to the sky.
Choices need to be made . Who should be the beneficiaries of our trade policy would be a great starting place.
I highly recommend this book for an comprehensive overview of the issues . Lighthizer’s book on free trade is next.
Note : this book was published before Donald Trump and before the Covid supply chain issues . Both of these have have swung the pendulum away fromfree trade.
With that said , I wanted to revisit this subject some 30 years after nafta and with both political parties wanting some form of tariffs either for national security or jobs or for supply chain stability post covid . Mr Fletchers has written a succinct history of trade and presented an excellent case for protecting our manufacturing capability.
Especially in the area of national security . I also started with the belief that the huge trade deficits we have are not good for this country and are ultimately not sustainable.
David Ricardo and Adam Smith never contemplated a world with an inexhaustible supply of cheap labor which by definition blows up the concept of a market equilibrium in labor costs . There is no way to compete with China et al labor costs.
The conundrum is that the USA has hugely benefited from importing goods made with inexpensive labor , holding down inflation over this entire time , but at the cost of wiping out our mfg capabilities which brings us to the question of whose ox is to be gored ? The consumer or the mfg worker ?
How about the pharmaceutical industry which is so heavily subsidized/protected by the US government to the detriment of every US consumer ? Same with agriculture ?
Or that incredible travesty of the domestic sugar industry, protected for “ national security “ reasons ? Or the short sighted Jones Act which wiped out our merchant ship builders?
Do we only protect industry which can persuasively lobby the federal government?
When you sort through all the mess, it becomes a abundantly clear that there’s no such thing as 100% free trade in any country and in this country there never has been per Fletcher . It’s also clear there is little logic to our current system.
Looking at the other side of the coin , we have rung up massive trade deficits with China . To have such a vulnerable position with our largest geopolitical competitor is simply bad judgement. When combined with the reckless deficit spending in DC , we are running up a huge bill and it can not be continued indefinitely. As rich as the USA is and as blessed as we are with natural resources, trees don’t grow to the sky.
Choices need to be made . Who should be the beneficiaries of our trade policy would be a great starting place.
I highly recommend this book for an comprehensive overview of the issues . Lighthizer’s book on free trade is next.
Note : this book was published before Donald Trump and before the Covid supply chain issues . Both of these have have swung the pendulum away fromfree trade.
January 1, 2012
This is really a great book on economics and why "free trade doesn't work". It's one of those books that just kind of shifts your whole thinking on an issue. I've heard Fletcher on radio interviews since reading this book, and this guy is really quite sharp. I would say that the description of it being an "very readable", isn't quite right. It's not an "easy" read. It's a challenging read. Some chapters are straight forward, but others are a bit more technical than the average layperson would expect. I'll be honest. I probably understood 70% of the book, and did not get 30% of it (although I've only read it once, and did read it fairly fast). But even understanding that 70%, I was like "Holy crap, this guy is onto something!".
You will be depressed after reading this book, when you realize the U.S has no strategic plan for winning at the economic war, even when all the other countries are implementing tariffs and such. Both the Dems and Repubs have really dropped the ball on this issue. It's a very important topic, and a great book on the subject. Should be required reading by all our politicians.
You will be depressed after reading this book, when you realize the U.S has no strategic plan for winning at the economic war, even when all the other countries are implementing tariffs and such. Both the Dems and Repubs have really dropped the ball on this issue. It's a very important topic, and a great book on the subject. Should be required reading by all our politicians.
November 22, 2012
An argument against free trade; or to be more precise, an argument that free trade can work only under certain conditions - so we shouldn't blindly sing the praises of free trade (as in, with China) in all cases, nor should we condemn as retrogrades and close-minded isolationists those who argue in favor of protection for certain valuable industries. Fletcher also argues that most rich countries have gotten rich by using a form of protectionism, and that free trade (i.e. opening up to other countries' products completely) does not work as advertised. Worth reading and thinking about, especially since American trade deficits have reached unsustainable levels, and this is exacting a high cost in jobs and decimated communities.
January 25, 2012
Okay, I can't claim to understand the economics of this book. But there are issues about America's trade policies that we all have to face. The idea that Chinese and Indian people will begin buying American goods just won't be happening anytime soon. A middle class family in India makes $2500 per year. Offshoring is a big problem. American companies can hire Indian programmers for $5000. And it's even worse in China. And the unbalanced tariff policies piss me off. So I really don't understand economics, but it's interesting anyway.
February 20, 2022
Well written but basically erroneous set of arguments about free trade. The author never addresses the main arguments of economists about the benefits of trade, while pointing out all the problems posed by the type of globalization experienced in recent decades. The latter task is useful, but the author throws out the liberalization baby with the managed trade bathwater.
April 5, 2011
Got me thinking hard.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews