Several years ago I read the book: Free Trade Doesn't Work by Ian Fletcher. It really opened my eyes to what was behind the whole "free trade" thing. Mr. Fletcher used to be fairly active on HuffPo but not for a while now. He still has an active website appropriately named: freetradedoesntwork.com. More below.
The Table of Contents:
Introduction: Why We Can’t Trust the Economists
PART I: THE PROBLEM
Chapter 1: The Bad Arguments for Free Trade
Chapter 2: Deficits, Time Horizons, and Perverse Efficiency
Chapter 3: Trade Solutions That Won’t Work
Chapter 4: Critiques of Free Trade to Avoid
PART II: THE REAL ECONOMICS OF TRADE
Chapter 5: Ye Olde Theory of Comparative Advantage
Chapter 6: The Deliberately Forgotten History of Trade
Chapter 7: The Negligible Benefits of Free Trade
Chapter 8: The Disingenuous Law and Diplomacy of Free Trade
PART III: THE SOLUTION
Chapter 9: Where Does Growth Really Come From?
Chapter 10: The Multiple Equilibrium Revolution
Chapter 11: The Natural Strategic Tariff
Chapter 12: The End of the Free Trade Coalition
As you can see he takes on economists from the beginning and continues throughout the book. His solution may not be the best (he admits this) but has some merit and starts the conversation about not only stopping more trade agreements but rolling back the damage that they has been done.
Here's the description on Amazon:
This very readable book is aimed at both ordinary concerned citizens and people with a bit of sophistication about economics. It is a systematic examination of why free trade is slowly bleeding America's economy to death and what can be done about it. It explains in detail why the standard economic arguments free traders use all the time are false, and what kind of economic ideas - well within the grasp of the average American - justify protectionism instead. It examines the history and politics of free trade and explains how America came to adopt its present disastrous free trade policy. It looks at the breakdown of specific industries and how we can rebuild them and bring millions of high-paying jobs back to this country. It examines what's wrong with NAFTA, CAFTA, the WTO, and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is sharply critical of the current establishment, but from a bipartisan point of view, so it should satisfy progressives, conservatives, and everyone in between. Unlike many past critiques of free trade, it is economically-literate; it also explains New Trade Theory, the hot new area of economics that critiques free trade.
I hope you check it out and comment here about what you think of his arguments.