For too long, debates over international trade have been dominated by corporate elites and economic ideologues, rather than rooted in the experiences of ordinary Americans. 

The Trade Stories Project allows people who have been affected by policies and institutions like NAFTA and the WTO to share their views on a matter crucial to the global economy. 

This includes displaced workers, farmers, small business owners and immigrants who have been typically excluded from the trade debate.

Ben Joy

Portland, OR

Ben worked for approximately 10 years at InFocus, a Wilsonville, Oregon company that made top-of-the-line digital projectors, until it moved its manufacturing operations to Malaysia.

“My job was not directly eliminated because of the manufacturing outsourcing, because I worked with the development teams. Later on, a decision was made to outsource the engineering, research and development...

"You put so much into your jobs, doing anything necessary to make it succeed. Overseas companies won't ever value me as a worker in that way -- and we don't value overseas workers in that way."