work powerfully entrenched and will keep moving. the potential trade deal with asia the transpacific partnership, could, however, shape these trends in a direction that is compatible with american interests and ideas. that s why congressional, mainly democratic opposition has been so misguided. for those who worry that after tpp america would have to compete against low-wage countries, it s too late. it s been too late for decades. as zachary carabell notes, we are already living in a free trade world. the average tariff in the developed world is now about 3%. that s it. and in the past three decades, developing countries have cut their tariffs substantially as well. china s average tariff is less than 10% today. down from around 40% in 1985. the united states has one of the world s most open economies.