-- Productivity grows more quickly when countries produce goods and services in which they have a comparative advantage. Living standards can go up faster.
-- Global competition and cheap imports keep a lid on prices, so inflation is less likely to derail economic growth.
-- An open economy spurs innovation with fresh ideas from abroad.
-- Export jobs often pay more than other jobs.
-- Unfettered capital flows give the U.S. access to foreign investment and keep interest rates low.
MINUSES
-- Millions of Americans have lost jobs due to imports or production shifts abroad. Most find new jobs--that pay less.
-- Millions of others fear losing their jobs, especially at those companies operating under competitive pressure.
-- Workers face pay-cut demands from employers, which often threaten to export jobs.
-- Service and white-collar jobs are increasingly vulnerable to operations moving offshore.
-- U.S. employees can lose their comparative advantage when companies build advanced factories in low-wage countries, making them as productive as those at home.
Copyright 2005, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.