President Obama's warning about automation.

[JHan]

12. Well we had an opportunity with the TPP...

which everyone decided to crap on.

Protectionism always plays favorites. Look at the subsidies we've given industries long past their expiry date, imagine how those subsidies would have been better invested.

As for trade, spill over effects are a challenge because conditions are never perfect. We trade with countries far behind us in technological advancements, wealth, and labour activism. The goal, ultimately, should be agreements that not only benefit producers and consumers, but also capture externalities. Some countries will have greater negative externalities than others, because we're not all on an even footing. In one of HRC's leaked speech excerpts she spoke of a common hemispheric market, which must include provisions that meet agreed upon international standards- and I think this is what you would like, however would every country agree to this? Maybe not right now, but it's a worthy goal.

And we can't avoid this economic reality: To compete with nations that have cheaper labour, we must be more competitive and efficient and also realise that once labour standards improve globally, costs rise- this is why the idea of requiring unionisation in a trade deal was such a good idea, it would have added another layer of expense in outsourcing manufacturers would have found prohibitive.