Why Should Trade Negotiators Negotiate About?

Paul Krugman

Journal of Economic Literature, 1997, vol. 35, issue 1, 113-120

Abstract: In recent years there have been growing demands to make trade liberalization contingent on adoption of common labor and environmental standards. The straightforward economic answer is that this makes little sense: neither the gains from trade nor the gains from appropriate regulation are compromised if other countries impose standards that are weaker than your own. It is possible to offer second-bet economic rationales for harmonization, but these are empirically unconvincing. The only serious argument in favor or regulation is political: that regulation which is in the national interest may not be politically feasible unless other countries do the same.

Date: 1997
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