- published: 04 May 2015
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Free trade is a policy by which a government does not discriminate against imports or interfere with exports by applying tariffs (to imports) or subsidies (to exports) or quotas. According to the law of comparative advantage the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade of goods and services.[citation needed]
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from those that would emerge under deregulation. These governed prices are the result of government intervention in the market through price adjustments or supply restrictions, including protectionist policies. Such government interventions can increase as well as decrease the cost of goods and services to both consumers and producers.[citation needed] Since the mid-20th century, nations have increasingly reduced tariff barriers and currency restrictions on international trade. Other barriers, however, that may be equally effective in hindering trade include import quotas, taxes, and diverse means of subsidizing domestic industries. Interventions include subsidies, taxes and tariffs, non-tariff barriers, such as regulatory legislation and import quotas, and even inter-government managed trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) (contrary to their formal titles) and any governmental market intervention resulting in artificial prices.[citation needed]
The Free Trade Hall, Peter Street, Manchester, was a public hall constructed in 1853–6 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre and is now a hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The architect was Edward Walters. The hall subsequently was owned by Manchester Corporation, was bombed in the Manchester Blitz and rebuilt. It was Manchester's premier concert venue until the construction of the Bridgewater Hall in 1996. It was designated a Grade II* listed building on 18 December 1963.
The Free Trade Hall was built as a public hall between 1853 and 1856 by Edward Walters on land given by Richard Cobden in St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. Two earlier halls had been constructed on the site, one, a large timber pavilion built in 1840, and its brick replacement of 1842. The halls were "vital to Manchester's considerable role in the long campaign for the repeal of the Corn Laws." The hall was funded by public subscription and became a concert hall and home of the Hallé Orchestra in 1858. A blue plaque records it was built on the site of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819.