The growth in international trade as a result of trade liberalization has added significantly to world prosperity. The trade agreements already negotiated or being negotiated could, if completed, ratified and brought into force, lead to valuable further increases in trade and the incomes of participating states.
But the prospects for trade expansion as a result of new trade agreement are bleak. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was only concluded after long and tortuous negotiations, has yet to be ratified by the U.S. Senate or the Diet.
In the United States, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has denounced the agreement in forthright terms. He has also attacked other trade agreements including the North American Free Trade Agreement concluded by the U.S. If elected he would pose a serious threat to world trade.