Question

Why do US private sector unions typically oppose free trade agreements? From a historical perspective, why does the Democratic party oppose free trade while Republicans typically support it? What are the arguments.

Answer 1

Private sector unions oppose free trade agreements, because it works to reduce the control of these unions upon the workers as well as their impact upon the management of the organization. When free trade takes place, then firms have to be competitive and highly productive to remain in the market. It can only happen, when workers increase their productivity and it will happen, when they will be paid on the basis of their merit and work done. But, it will reduce the collective bargaining strategy adopted by the unions and workers will only be employed if they are productive and they will be given performance based pay. If it does not happen, the companies will remain non-competitive and go out of the market very soon.  For this, it will be unions who will be held responsible.  As a result, unions will slowly lose the control and get vanished with free trade in place. It makes these private trade unions to oppose the free trade agreement.

From the historical perspective, democratic party has been established to bring social security,  equality and proper rights for everyone. This philosophy gets hurt, when free trade agreement takes place that can cause job loss, promote inequality and make less skilled workers as the biggest victim of the free trade. It makes democratic party to be careful when there is a discussion in free trade and scope of job loss takes place. In this regard, the arguments are based on protectionism, social securities, loss of jobs due to sourcing from other nations with cheap factors of production.

Though, Republican party supports it as it is the mean to expand the US leadership in the world, develop strategic alliances, making US MNCs to identify markets in overseas nations and give fuel to the US economy. The arguments are the benefits to be much more than the cost incurred due to the free trade, moving upward of the value chain to sell goods of high value ( as done in NAFTA)  and world leadership of the USA using the free trade agreements.