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Learn how MCC uses third-party indicators to determine which countries should be eligible for MCC assistance.

Abstract: The 2012 rankings of trade freedom around the world indicate that trade freedom in the world has remained constant or regressed slightly since 2011. The lack of improvement is regrettable because countries with the most trade freedom have the highest per capita gross domestic product, the lowest incidence of hunger, and the cleanest environments. The U.S.

The United States was the first great free trade zone of the modern age, a fact that accounts for the economic efficiency and prosperity that has made it the largest economy in the world. The freedom to trade without hindrance across a continent-spanning market, which has underpinned America’s rapid development, has in modern times been emulated by groups of nations such as the European Union and promoted worldwide through multilateral organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This Special Report describes which trade policies are helpful, which are harmful, and what the U.S. Congress can do now to put the U.S. back on a path to free trade leadership.

The 2010 rankings of trade freedom in countries around the world, developed by The Heritage Foundation as part of its annual Index of Economic Freedom, show many countries moving ahead to lower tariffsand cut other barriers to trade. Other countries, however, arestanding still or moving backward in response to protectionistpolitical pressures and are likely to find themselves fallingbehind, with lower growth rates and stagnating economies.