February 12, 2013 12:07PM # Ed Glaeser Makes Lamentably Rare Case for the Freedom to Trade By [Sallie James](https://www.cato.org/people/sallie-james) --- SHARE Support for free trade, especially from politicians, often rests on tired mercantalist arguments about the benefits of exports and jobs. That can backfire, as we’ve seen recently with [trade figures showing that the U.S. trade deficit with Korea has widened since the Korea‑U.S. Free Trade Agreement came into force](http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/02/12/2013021201250.html). That’s why I’ve argued that [relying on rhetoric about all the exports and jobs that free(r) trade will create is a dangerous game](https://www.cato.org/blog/jobs-trade-agreements): where, might trade skeptics ask, are all those exports you promised us, and why should we support trade liberalization if the results we were promised don’t materialize? So I was thrilled today to see a [small post on Bloomberg​.com](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-12/strike-a-european-trade-agreement.html) from Harvard economics professor Ed Glaeser calling for the president to make a strong push for a U.S.-EU trade agreement, because of the benefits it would bring U.S. companies and consumers: > He should use his address to make the U.S. a leading voice once again for economic freedom: the freedom of consumers to buy European goods and the freedom of producers to sell their goods on the other side of the Atlantic. It is gratifying to see a principled case for free trade, resting on a foundation of freedom, in the media. Here’s hoping President Obama read Professor Glaeser’s article, and heeds his advice. ##### Related Tags [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).