Free Trade Without Controversy

This is from the New York Times editorial board: 

More than 50 countries agreed on Friday to eliminate tariffs on a wide range of technology goods like medical devices, navigation equipment and advanced semiconductors in a trade agreement that should benefit American manufacturers, consumers and the global economy.

Signatories to the Information Technology Agreement, which covers 201 product categories, include the United States, the European Union, China, South Korea and other members of the World Trade Organization. International trade in those goods totals about $1.3 trillion a year, or about 7 percent of all trade. 

I worry that I’m speaking to soon, but so far at least, I have not seen any of the usual trade critics complain about this deal. With trade negotiations such as the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, there are lots of groups who are fired up about protesting every stage of the process. But with this deal to eliminate tariffs on tech goods, these same folks have not had much to say. Which perhaps suggests a way forward for negotiating future trade deals — focus on lowering tariffs and other forms of pure liberalization, and stay away from “governance” issues such as intellectual property, labor and the environment. The benefits are greater with this approach, and the controversy appears to be lower.