Free trade lowers consumer prices benefiting the poor

Steps:

• Free trade allows countries to specialize in goods they produce efficiently, based on comparative advantage.
• This specialization increases global supply and competition among producers.
• Greater competition drives down prices for imported and domestic goods.
• Lower prices reduce the cost of living, especially for the world's poorest who spend most income on basics.

Why D is correct:

• Free trade promotes comparative advantage, where nations export strengths and import weaknesses, flooding markets with cheaper goods and lowering overall prices per economic theory.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Free trade shifts jobs to comparative advantages, not necessarily hi-tech, and may harm low-skill workers in poor countries.
• B: Free trade increases, not reduces, competitiveness by exposing firms to global markets.
• C: Free trade can encourage resource exploitation, potentially worsening environmental issues in developing nations.

Final answer: D