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The true losers of the US congressional election, which shifted majority in both the House and the Senate to the Democratic Party, are neither the right, the conservatives, nor even the Republicans. Instead it is the US consumers, and — more serious — the poor of the world.

The Washington Post report that the bill to normalise trade with Vietnam failed to win the required 2/3 majority in the House. This is a huge setback, both for US-Vietnamese relations and for the advancement of free trade. With this bill rejected loads and loads of poor Vietnamese will be refused income that exports and foreign investments would have yielded under free trade, while millions of American consumers will have to pay more for their clothes. It’s a lose-lose situation.

Admittedly the Republicans were never the most convinced free traders, but the Congress is definitely more protectionist now than it was before the election. That is a true loss. Protectionist reflexes are understandable, and those of us who wants to see trade liberalisation need to get better at explaining why this is mutually beneficial. Otherwise media reports of oursourcing and stories of unemployment will continue to dominate in people’s minds.

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