Why don't we abandon the misleading and loaded term "free trade"? The proper descriptive term I believe is "open trade"--as it should be "open markets." The central question is really the ease of entry and exit, or competitiveness. All markets and all trade occur within a regulatory regime, embracing property rights, contract, liability (tort), warranty, etc. So neither trade nor markets are ever "free" in the sense of being conducted in the absent of any underlying rules, standards, etc. If we would collectively insist on talking about open trade and open markets, it might elevate the quality of analysis and discussion. Fred Carstensen