Recent surveys have identified groups that have suffered from international trading arrangements, at least relative to their national peers.3Think about communities in the American Midwest or Northern France: both are regions where manufacturing jobs have disappeared with devastating effects on the social fabric of their communities.
Some shifting of manufacturing jobs is not proof that international trade theories have failed – indeed it is part of the evidence that the theories are right. Accepting trade theories thus means accepting that there may – and most probably will – be negative consequences for some communities.