IFT is a private, not-for-profit, non-partisan research organisation. Our aim is to educate civil society about the economics of trade liberalisation, and to change public policy toward revitalising the global economy.

IFT’s President is author, lecturer, and adviser to the UK Board of Trade, Daniel Hannan. The secretariat is managed by our Director, Robert Armstrong. We work with advisory input from our Executive and International Boards.

IFT is funded by donations and grants from private individuals, commercial and non-commercial organisations, supplemented by revenue from some publication sales and conferences. If you would like to support our work, please visit our donation page.

IFT recaptures the moral case for open commerce

Free trade has lifted mankind to a level of wealth that was recently unimaginable. In 1990, 38 percent of human beings lived in extreme poverty; today, that figure has fallen to 8 per cent, as previously closed African and Asian economies have joined the global market.

Yet, paradoxically, free trade has never been so out of fashion. Across the world, idealistic people march against trade deals, protest G20 summits, occupy stock exchanges, sincerely believing that, in doing so, they are standing up for the poor against multinational corporations – when, in reality, they are doing the opposite.

Politicians naturally respond to public opinion. The Uruguay Round, concluded in 1994, was the last successful comprehensive multilateral trade negotiation. Trade barriers have been on the rise globally, which has led to declining world trade volumes - even before the COVID pandemic struck.

We need to recapture the moral case for open commerce. Free trade is not simply a way to buy cheaper iPhones. It is the ultimate instrument of poverty alleviation, conflict resolution and social justice.