Bernie Sanders’ trade policy: Devastating to American workers and the global poor

Bernie Sanders’s views on foreign trade would have negative consequences for American workers and devastate the impoverished in foreign countries.

In an interview with the editorial board of the New York Daily News, Sanders perspective on foreign trade echoed Donald Trump.

“It is cities all over this country have lost their tax base. They’ve lost their decent-paying jobs because of disastrous trade policies,” Sanders said.

Were it not for the trade dealers, Sanders believes, American workers would be better off and more manufacturing jobs would have remained in the United States. While Sanders recognizes, at least in foreign trade, that tradeoffs exist and not everyone will receive benefits, he vastly misunderstands the effects of trade.

That’s detrimental to low-skilled and low-income Americans, and even more so for impoverished foreigners. If it were up to Sanders, he would drastically curtail American foreign trade.