Questions76-80refertothefollowinginformation. Disagreementsamongeconomistsarelegendary,butnotontheissueoffreetrade.Arecentsurveyofprominenteconomistsbothconservativeandliberalconcludedthataneconomistwhoarguesforrestrictinginternationaltradeisalmostascommontodayasaphysicianwhofavorsleeching. WhytheInternationalfreetrade,economistsagree,,makespossiblehigherstandardsoflivingallovertheglobe. Thecaseforfreetraderestslargelyonthisprinciple:aslongastradeisvoluntary,bothpartners’benefits,otherwisetheywouldn'ttrade.Thebuyerofashirt,forexample,valuestheshirtmorethanthemoneyspend,whilethesellervaluesthemoneymore.Botharebetteroffbecauseofthesale.Moreover,itdoesn’tmatterwhethertheshirtsalesmanisfromtheUnitedStatesorHongKong(oranywhereelse). ThevastmajorityofAmericanmanufacturesfaceinternationalcompetition.Thiscompetitionforcescompaniestoimprovequalityandcutcosts.Bycontrast,protectionismencouragesmonopoly,lowerqualityandhigherprices. Americanspayanenormouspriceforprotectionover$60billionayear,or$1000forafamilyoffour.Thankstoprotectionism,forexample,Americanconsumerspaytwicetheworldpriceforsugar. Freetradealsomakestheworldeconomymoreefficient,byallowingnationstocapitalizeontheirstrengths.TheUnitedStateshasanadvantageinfoodproduction,forinstance,whileSaudiArabiahasanadvantageinoil.TheSaudiscouldundertakemassiveirrigationtobecomeself-sufficientinfood,butitismoreeconomicalforthemtoselloilandpurchasefoodfromus.Similarly,wecouldbecomeself-sufficientinpetroleumbysqueezingmoreoutofoilshale.ButitismuchlesscostlytobuysomeofouroilfromSaudiArabia.Tardebetweenourtwocountriesimprovesthestandardoflivinginboth. Protectionismisbothwastefulandunjust.Ittaxesmostheavilythepeoplewhocanleastaffordit.Thus,tariffsthatrisethepriceofshoesburdenthepoormorethantherich.Despitethepowerfulcaseforfreetrade,theUnitedStatesandtherestoftheworldhavealwaysbeenprotectionisttosomedegree.Thisisbecausefreetradebenefitsthegeneralpublic,whileprotectionismbenefitsspecialinterestgroup,whicharebetterorganized,betterfinancedandmoreinformed.Tomakemattersworse,muchofwhatwehearonthisissueismisinformationspreadbythespecialintereststhemselves. Theeconomists______.
A.agree on the restriction of internal trade. B.agree whether to restrict free trade or not. C.hold different arguments because of their different interests. D.agree on free trade.正确答案D
