The Lofty Promise and Humble Reality of International Trade

I have a new column:

The Lofty Promise and Humble Reality of International Trade: How should we feel about international trade? Should we applaud it for its ability to lift the world’s poor out of poverty, lower the price of goods, and increase the variety of products we can consume? Or should we be concerned about the effects it has on employment, inequality, and the availability of decent jobs within the US?

As we shall see, this is not an easy question to answer. ...