Labor Standards and Working Conditions

Workers in many low-income countries around the world labor under conditions that would be illegal for a

worker in the United States. Workers in countries like China, Thailand, Brazil, South Africa, and Poland are

often paid less than the United States minimum wage. For example, in the United States, the national
482 20 • Globalization and Protectionism

minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. A typical wage in many low-income countries might be more like $7.25 per

day, or often much less. Moreover, working conditions in low-income countries may be extremely unpleasant,

or even unsafe. In the worst cases, production may involve the child labor or even workers who are mistreated,

abused, or entrapped in their jobs. These concerns over foreign labor standards do not affect most of U.S.

trade, which is intra-industry and carried out with other high-income countries that have labor standards
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