Everybody on this I have seen on this board who “bashes international trade”, as you put it, does so because they are nationalist, not Marxist. They make the arguements made by Pat Buchanan, that international trade agreements erode soveriegnty, and that formerly American corporations (who consider themselves “transnational” until they need a bailout) benefit from those agreements, at the expense of ordinary Americans. They oppose allowing institutions controlled by foreigners to dictate tarrif policy, a power delegated to Congress under the Constitution.
You could also take a look at how many people who take part in negotiating those agreements later go to work as consultants for foreign corporations and governments. The truth is most people who “bash foriegn trade” here don’t oppose foreign trade, they oppose trade that hurts ordinary Americans while the same people who have run US economic policy under Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama never seem to change and do just fine.
Good points. But nationalism is still economically unwise populist drivel. And the fact that many corporations use politicians as a tool to curry favor and game the competitive landscape is not free market in any way shape or form.