In the simplest of terms, free trade is the total absence of government policies restricting the import and export of goods and services.
The opposite of free trade is protectionism, a highly-restrictive trade policy intended to eliminate competition from other countries.
The law of Comparative Advantage theorizes that all countries will always benefit from cooperation and participation in free trade.
However in the real world few efforts to actually implement pure free-trade policies have ever succeeded.
Free trade agreements also provide a mechanism for the facilitation of trade in goods & services.
They are international treaties that reduce barriers to trade and investment & most industrialized nations have in place free trade agreements (FTAs), or have negotiated multinational pacts which allow for, but regulate tariffs, quotas, and other trade restrictions.
Australia currently has free trade agreements with more than 20 countries, and is seeking to negotiate and implement additional agreements.
