Is free trade always good? Free trade is a policy that is based on the concept of comparative advantage according to which when comparing two countries one of them will have the ability to produce a better product than the other country. So it is better for each country to focus its efforts and resources on a single product to increase the economic activity of both countries. Determining who produces a product best is based on the open market without the intervention of a government that may attempt to control a trade by imposing government protective measures such as tariffs. The World Trade Organization has been charged with monitoring free trade, but its policing has been noted to have been ineffective in stopping such interventions. Free trade is not only based on a laissez-faire approach but also on conditional assumptions. The assumptions used by many for economic theories are not always accurate, but rather the justification for using such assumptions is that economic theories can be applied for the greater good of an economy. Laissez-Faire Approach Embracing the concept of free trade means that a government does not influence trade by imposing sanctions but rather has a laissez-faire approach that allows the international market to decide which product has the comparative advantage. The global economy works on this assumption, but not everyone “plays” by the same rules. The United States has imposed limited sanctions on free trade, allowing free markets to operate around the world. The United States' approach to free trade is very similar to our approach to the US Olympic team. Our athletes are unpaid volunteers who often fund their Olympic pursuits with sponsorships. As metal counting often demonstrates, you don't always "win"... middle of paper... given its imperfections, until an innovative theory is developed that supplants some of the inefficiencies of free trade. References Carbaugh , R. (2011). International Economics (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Southwestern, CengageLearning.Fletcher, I. (2011). The Collapse of Free Trade: And Why It's a Good Thing Retrieved from http://www.tradereform.org/2011/05/the-crumbling-of-free-trade-%E2%80%94-and-why-it %E2%80%99s-a-good-thing/ Hindriks, F. (2005). Unobservability, tractability and the battle of hypotheses. Journal of Economic Methodology. 12(3), 383-406.Krugman, P.R. (1987) Is free trade outdated? The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1(2), 131-144. Retrieved from http://bss.sfsu.edu/jmoss/resources/Is Free Trade Passe.pdf Prasch, R. E. (1996). Reconsidering the theory of comparative advantage. Review of political economy. 8(1), 37-55.