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NewsFlash: June 6, 2007

New Analysis Contests Trade Growth Claims

As new trade agreements are considered before fast track trade promotion authority expires at the end of the month, a range of claims are being made to Congress about the benefits of trade. But one claim touts trade benefits far higher than the rest, and deserves close inspection.  Economic Policy Institute economist L. Josh Bivens researched the source of the claim that new trade agreements could add $500 billion (or $4,500 per household) to the American economy, and finds the numbers are far too weak to be a basis of discussions about trade policy. His findings are in the report, Marketing the Gains from Trade, published today by EPI.

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