The poll by the respected PIPA/Knowledge Networks based at the University of Maryland said 53 percent of the 1,896 respondents agreed with this statement:

"I support the growth of international trade in principle but I am not satisfied with the effects of trade on American jobs, the poor in other countries and the environment." Another 18 percent expressed flat out opposition to the growth of trade itself. Twenty percent of those polled supported the way the United States is pursuing and expanding international trade.

Writing in U. S. Politics Today, editor Joe Rothstein said the latest negative opinions being expressed about global trade represents a complete reversal of support by the U.S. public, which since the end of World War II, has enthusiastically supported free trade and economic development throughout the world.

"But, the U.S. public now sees unfettered free global trade as a problem for U.S. workers and a mixed blessing for workers elsewhere," Rothstein writes. "Too much erosion is occurring in wages and benefits for the jobs that remain. Too many workers and retirees are getting screwed by too many U.S. companies who are using their new found leverage to otherwise do just fine by their executives and shareholders."