Fair or Free Trade?

In today’s globalized world, the trade of goods and services is now incredibly prevalent between nations. It is becoming even more common for larger companies and corporations to seek both cheaper resources and cheaper labor in foreign and developing countries. Many companies seek international trade in order to be more successful without spending and using as much money to further their company in the production of a certain product. Trade of goods and services can have positive and negative aspects, both of which I would like to analyze and observe.

International trade is sometimes viewed as being incredibly unequal. Major corporations go to poor countries to get cheap labor. In many cases, the people working for these major companies in “sweatshops” are paid very little for the number of hours of hard labor they put into their jobs. In some cases, the treatment of workers is far less than ideal. Because of these low wages and not having to pay the workers much money, the companies are able to turn a very large profit off of their product. Such conditions are unfortunate, but some small help is being introduced to remedy this situation by the implementation of Fair Trade. Fair Trade attempts to eliminate poverty and allows farmers and laborers to receive a larger profit from the goods they produce as well as providing them with knowledge to increase their success in life.

However, utilizing international goods and services, or the concept of free trade, isn’t always such a negative concept. When large companies go to different countries to find labor for their product, there are several benefits to consider. In many cases, when companies choose to go to developing countries for labor, they are creating work. In the poorer countries, many people may be unemployed and looking for some type of job, and working for these corporations is a way for a person to make money to support his or her family. Additionally, economic success can also occur from the presence of these companies and help developing countries slowly become more prosperous.

This blog is for a class concentrated on the ideas of Globalization and Inequality. I think that the trade of services and goods is directly correlated to the overarching theme of the course. As the world is more globalized, the economy and trade are becoming increasingly international. In some cases, globalization may bring about both inequality and great benefit.

I chose to assess the topic of trade and not only the negative aspects of it, but also the positive in it as well. I think it is incredibly important to consider both sides of an argument to become more accepting and understanding of how others may perceive a certain issue. I hope that through more research about this topic I can become more enlightened, and hopefully inform others, about the concept of international trade and not only its faults, but also the benefit it brings.