Tariffs were very strong American worker wage protection, HENCE corporations hate tariffs.

[pampango]

27. "What do you think these current "free trade" agreements are intended to do?"

PREVENT nations from doing those wonderful progressive things you describe. They are intended to remove the sovereign ability of nations to determine their own laws and policies. They are designed to make progressive values subservient to the dictates of Big Capital throughout the world.

That seems logical but you can't argue with reality. The countries with 'these wonderful progressive things' are exactly the same countries that trade much more than the US trades and they have more 'free trade', too. That may seem 'illogical' but republicans think the same about their belief that raising the minimum wage 'must' increase unemployment. "Logic" and reality sometimes conflict with each other.

FDR was big on multilateral institutions to govern international politics, trade, finance, labor, etc. I think he would agree with you that one point of that is to limit the 'sovereignty' of nations. He might disagree with you, though, that that is a bad thing.

There is no 'invisible hand' in international relations. If each country pursues its own narrow national interest, there is no magic 'hand' that causes that to result in the most peace and prosperity for everyone on the globe. FDR had seen that both domestically and internationally. He wanted the UN, GATT, the IMF and World Bank, the ILO and a host of other international organizations to tie countries together and, yes, limit their sovereignty in the interests of the greater good. In a sense he applied the same philosophy internationally that he applied to domestic policy - that there is no 'magic hand' that creates a great outcome for everyone when each person (or each country) pursues its own narrow self-interest.