The proportion of the public that thinks trade agreements have been good for the country (35%) is near the low end of the range it's occupied since 1997, according to a survey conducted for the Pew Foundation. The proportion that thinks agreements are bad (48%) is very high: since 1997, no more than 35% had previously said these agreements were bad for the country. The proportion who "don't know" is at its lowest level for this period. The specific question asked was "In general, do you think that free trade agreements like NAFTA, and the policies of the World Trade Organization, have been a good thing or a bad thing for the United States?"
These are some of the results of a survey of about 1,500 U.S. adults conducted April 23-27 for the Pew Foundation. Here's the overall survey report: Obama's Image Slips, His Lead Over Clinton Disappears; the survey covered a lot of ground, here are the trade-specific results: Section 4: Trade and the economy. Here's the report of the actual questions and responses (the "topline" report): April 2008 Political Survey. Final Topline. I've copied over some summary remarks below. There's quite a bit more at the link.
As recently as November 2007, opinion was split between those who felt trade agreeements were good, and those who felt they were bad (40% to 40%). So over the period of the primaries opinion shifted quite a bit. I assume that the impact is mainly due to the attacks on trade launched by Obama and Clinton during that time. The economic situation has also gotten worse since November. (The November results are in the April 2008 Final Topline).
With public views of the national economy continuing to be quite negative, Americans now are taking a much more critical view of free trade agreements. Nearly half of Americans (48%) say that the World Trade Organization and free trade agreements such as NAFTA have been bad for the country; 35% say such agreements have been good for the United States. This is the first time a plurality has expressed a negative view of the impact of free trade agreements since the question was first asked a decade ago.
An increasing number of Americans also say that their personal financial situation has been hurt by free trade agreements. The proportion expressing this opinion has increased by 12 points since December 2006.
Most Americans now say that free trade agreements lead to job losses (61%) and make workers' wages lower (56%); both percentages are up sharply from 2006. In addition, half of the public says that free trade agreements make the economy slow down, an increase of 16 points since 2006.
The survey also finds that the positive recent trend in public perceptions and attitudes about the war in Iraq has been reversed. A solid majority of Americans (56%) favors withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as possible, rather than keeping them there until the situation is stable. In February, 49% favored a troop withdrawal. The share saying the United States will succeed in achieving its goals in Iraq, which reached its highest level in more than a year in February (53%), has declined to 47% in the current survey.
Among the other results, a plurality think free trade agreements increase U.S. prices and slow the economy down, and majorities think they reduce wages and lead to job reductions. A majority does think they are good for the people of developing countries.
The Pew summary says that "By a margin of more than six-to-one (61% to 9%), the U.S. public now says free trade agreements result in job losses rather than in new jobs..." This is based on the answer to this question: "Do free trade agreements create jobs in the U.S., lead to job losses, or not make a difference?" My reading of the question is that it implies net (losses - creation) rather than gross (losses) jobs, so Amercians actually think trade is costing jobs.
To read more about U.S. public opinion on trade issues: Public opinion.
Changes on May 15: noted change in economic situation since November; fixed "gross-net" error. May 16: link to other opinion posts.
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