Explain why, generally speaking, unrestricted trade tends to force countries to equalize their regulations in a variety of areas including labor, environmental, and consumer rules. Provide one example from each of these areas in your answer.

What will be an ideal response?

The ideal answer should include:
1. Explain the link between unrestricted trade and trade regulations.
2. Provide an example from labor regulations. For example, the United States banned imports of goods (mostly rugs) made by South Asia's 17 million indentured (slave) child laborers.
3. Provide an example from environmental regulations. For example, in 1996, Brazil and Venezuela took the United States to the WTO and forced a change in U.S. environmental rules regarding imported gasoline, claiming that regulations under the Clean Air Act were functioning as nontariff barriers.
4. Provide an example from consumer rules. For example, the WTO ruled in 1997 that Europeans' fears about the use of growth hormones in beef were not scientifically warranted, and therefore EU regulations could not be used to exclude U.S. beef containing hormones. When the European Union persisted, the United States was allowed to retaliate by imposing high tariffs on a list of EU exports such as French cheeses.
5. Offer a compelling summary and conclusion.