Free Trade Area and Customs Union both deal with tariffs and trade. However, they differ in many respects. Greg Mankiw argues that free trade is an area in which economists are united International trade is the modern framework for prosperity. Free trade policy opens up new areas of competition and innovation. Free trade leads to better jobs, new markets and more investment. Free trade spreads values and beliefs as well as goods and services. Since international trade depends on traders respecting their agreements, countries and companies are more accountable to each other and therefore more stable. Environmental protection measures can prevent the destruction of natural resources and crops. Labour laws prevent poor working conditions. The World Trade Organization enforces free trade agreements.

The main criticism of free trade agreements is that they are responsible for the outsourcing of employment. This search for individual advantage is beautifully linked to the universal well-being of the whole. Free trade increases the prosperity of Americans — and citizens of all participating nations — by allowing consumers to buy more and better products at a lower cost. It promotes economic growth, improved efficiency, innovation and greater fairness, accompanied by a rules-based system. These benefits increase as overall trade – exports and imports – increases. The purpose of trade is to provide access to a wider variety of goods and services.