While the United States has a 70-year history of free trade, not everyone agrees that the benefits outweigh the costs. The debate on free trade has been brought to center stage with the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a watershed moment which will decide where the US and major countries around the world go next with trade.

On October 6, the Mercatus Center hosted a Capitol Hill discussion on Congress and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Among the topics covered were free trade's effects on manufacturing, whether or not trade deficits matter, and the effects of NAFTA and other agreements like it.