Americans See Trade as Potential Boost to Economy, Says Gallup Poll
More than 50 percent of Americans believe international trade represents an opportunity for growth through boosting exports, according to a Gallup 2014 World Affairs survey, conducted Feb. 6-9 with 1,023 U.S. adults and published on Feb. 21. Nearly 40 percent of Americans, however, think a trade-induced increase in foreign imports poses a threat to the U.S. economy, the poll results said. “Americans' perceptions of foreign trade may partly stem from their confidence in the U.S. economy. Public skepticism about foreign trade peaked in 2008, when 52 percent saw it mainly as a threat whereas 41 percent saw it as an opportunity,” said the poll results. “Americans were evenly divided on trade for the next few years, through 2012, as economic confidence remained quite negative. Then, in 2013, along with an uptick in confidence, Americans turned sharply positive about trade. And that pattern holds today.”
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The state of the deficit, the political party occupying the White House and socio-economic status also may contribute to Americans’ views on trade, the poll results suggest. More than three-quarters of voters support increasing U.S. exports and manufacturing through free-trade agreements, according to a national survey conducted by McLaughlin & Associates during roughly the same time period (see 14022127).