USAFacts: “The US has 14 agreements covering trade with 20 countries. Free trade agreements are strategic partnerships between countries that trade with each other by reducing barriers to entry to the international market for producers, standardizing labor practices, and ensuring affordability and safety for consumers, and more. Compared to a trade war, free trade agreements are like peace treaties — they’re meant to bring countries into alignment and promote a fair and harmonious relationship that promotes trade and is mutually beneficial for all countries involved. What do free trade agreements do? Free trade agreements aim to keep international markets open and flexible for consumers and domestic industries by:

• Reducing trade barriers like tariffs. This lowers the cost of imports, keeping prices lower and giving consumers more purchase options
• Protecting intellectual property rights of domestic producers. Limiting competitive opportunities on proprietary products preserves access to international markets for domestic industries.
• Developing product and labor practice standards across markets. This protects consumers by ensuring that imported products are safe and meet the same kinds of standards as their domestic alternatives
• Protecting against exclusionary rules around investing or participating in financial markets…”