Free trade should not be voted down by politicians looking to advance their own agendas. While some gain a great deal from trade and some do not, overall the allocation is efficient and more goods are enjoyed overall. The refusal to renew the contract with no tax imports of Columbia and Ecuador most likely will harm consumers by higher prices incurred.
Also, the rejection by the Senate Republicans to approve the G.S.P. does not help Americans. While more jobs would be produced if the sleeping bags were produced here, the consumers would all bear the additional costs which could make the price double what it would be if produced overseas.
Americans voted these politicians in office and it seems that their limited budgets, desire for cheap goods, and opinions were not taken into account in either of these decisions and that fact is very disturbing.
Matthew Boyle
Fayetteville, Ga.
[Boyle is a student at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville.]
