As a Brit interning in Washington this past summer, I was struck by the fierce anti-trade rhetoric that propelled the candidacies of both Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders. In the midst of it all came the Brexit vote, a reminder that Europe also is in the throes of a populist backlash against trade and the economic dislocations of globalization.
In Europe as well as the United States, such “globaphobia” is fueled in large part by the same economic realities: disappearing manufacturing jobs, lagging productivity and wages, and the very real prospect of downward mobility for working class families.
Productivity rates in EU nations are disappointingly low and most are on a sluggish trajectory (the United States is doing better by comparison but has also experienced a slowdown in productivity growth since 2000). Populist and nationalist parties offer simple if dubious explanations for Europe’s malaise, and point accusing fingers at free trade, open immigration and the common European market.
Far-right parties have made “Euroscepticism,” and economic isolationism the keystone of their manifestos. France’s Front National is capitalizing on Brexit to promote an anti-trade and xenophobic agenda. Marine Le Pen deems the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations to be imperialistic and unpatriotic, and the free movement of EU citizens is mocked as “Anglo-Saxon multiculturalism.” This is, unsurprisingly, accompanied by a virulent strain of anti-Americanism: Front National sides with Putin on the Ukraine conflict and even advocates for a French withdrawal from NATO.
Europe’s populist left has found some common ground with parties like the National Front and UKIP. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership the UK Labour Party offered only lukewarm opposition to Brexit. Corbyn was elected on an upswell of anger amongst the party base towards the ‘New Labour’ movement – best remembered in the United States in the form of Tony Blair – that flourished alongside the rise of the New Democrats in the ‘90s. Blair’s government successfully passed pro-business legislation and prioritized growth, while retaining a social conscience. Sadly, this model of progressive government has been cast aside by much of the party base. The Labour of today is instead a throwback to the ‘old school’ socialism of the 1970’s: opposition to trade deals and renationalization of industry, including the reopening of coalmines (which will operate at a loss). The opportunities offered to British workers by deals such as TTIP are conveniently ignored.
American progressives have a stake in opposing populist movements gathering steam in Europe, particularly as anti-Americanism often goes part-and-parcel with them. Our task is to counter the narrative that a more open transatlantic economy is a negative for working middle-class families. We need to emphasize how trade deals like the TPP and TTIP benefit the little guy above all else: small and medium sized businesses, women and ethnic-minority owned firms, millennials entering the workforce.
Populists are writing a darkly conspiratorial narrative on trade in 2016. There needs to be a full-throated progressive case on both sides of the Atlantic for open markets. Unfortunately the two parties that historically have embraced that position – Democrats and Labour – seem to have lost their voice.
Sources:https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/why-americans-should-worry-about-marine-le-pen
https://www.newsweek.com/what-if-marine-le-pen-wins-french-presidency-408357