Poll: In U.S., record high 72% see foreign trade as an opportunity rather than a threat

Foreign trade was a major theme of the 2016 presidential election, with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders having denounced trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. However, rather than rejecting agreements like these outright, President Trump has promised to replace multinational agreements such as the TPP with bilateral deals on more favorable terms for the U.S. This reasoning may help explain why more Americans now see trade as a mechanism for economic growth.

Americans’ view that trade is an opportunity for economic growth has fluctuated since 2000. The low point was 41% in 2008, during the 2007-2009 recession. However, the percentage holding this view was also low in 2005-2006, when the economy was in much better shape. It is possible that Americans were less likely to view trade as an economic opportunity then because there was less emphasis on the matter during the George W. Bush administration. During Barack Obama’s tenure, a push for trade with countries in the Asia-Pacific region thrust the issue back into the spotlight.

Americans are also modestly more positive about trade in response to another question Gallup asked in the same survey. Seventy-one percent say promoting favorable trade for the U.S. is a “very important” foreign policy goal, up from 66% in 2013, the last time the question was asked.