A New Era for Trade Deals?

Let’s hope so.

According to the NYT, Bush and the Democrats have reached an agreement to include “worker and environmental protections” in trade deals, beginning with Colombia, Panama, Peru, and South Korea.

I have been calling for the inclusion of such protections for some time now. The devil is always in the details. We will have to wait and see.

Maybe, at long last, the WTO will have to include such protections in their negotiations.

I have always been surprised that so-called “liberal” economists have called such protections as violations of how a “free” markets should work, making one excuse or another. Instead of mindlessly trumpeting trade agreements and negotiations, maybe now they will start looking at the fine print.

A new breeze is blowing. I hope it turns into a gale.