free trade

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free trade Commerce conducted between nations without restrictions on imports and exports. In modern history, its origins lie in the 19th-century attack (especially in Britain) on the traditional mercantile control of trade. The repeal of the Corn Laws (1846) and the Anglo-French Free-Trade Treaty (1860) were the hallmarks of the mid-Victorian faith in free trade. Twentieth-century free trade agreements include the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1959, and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Protectionists oppose free trade, advocating import duties and restrictive quotas to safeguard domestic industry.

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