Newly released polling data from Gallup shows that half of all Republicans see foreign trade as mainly a threat to the United States. This level of skepticism toward international trade has remained high among the GOP base since Gallup started collecting polling data on the topic.  By comparison, Democrats and independents both have much lower levels of concern about foreign trade, with each group at 37% of its membership viewing foreign trade as mainly a national threat. Concerns over the negative economic impacts of foreign trade by Republicans are well-founded.  Since 1960, there has been a strong negative relationship between the proportion of the U.S. economy engaged in trade and the corresponding rate of growth for real per capita GDP. In short, over the past 55 years, more trade correlates with lower economic growth.  During the 1960s, the U.S. averaged a trade volume at 9.4% of GDP and an average annual rate of real per capita GDP growth at more...(Read Full Post)