Trade policy has surfaced from time to time in this presidential race, but the candidates have generated more heat than light on the issue, with Donald Trump threatening to get tough on China, and Bernie Sanders blaming NAFTA for putting a squeeze on the middle class. But the impact of free trade isn't so clear cut, and recent surveys show most Americans support it. This hour, a special partnership with NPR, we sit down with a pair of local economists to help sort out free trade and take a look at a North Carolina industry whose decline has been blamed on free trade - textiles.
John Connaughton, Babson College Professor of Financial Economics, Belk College of Business, UNC Charlotte
Tim Quinlan, economist, Wells Fargo
Eric Henry, president, TS Designs, Burlington, NC
Dr. Blanton Godfrey, Joseph D. Moore Distinguished University Professor, College of Textiles, North Carolina State University