The United States has pursued Free Trade Agreements since the Reagan Administration, resulting in agreements with 20 countries. These FTAs have generally been seen as forward economic and diplomatic steps but in recent years they have encountered increasing criticism, with the Trump Administration offering criticism of NAFTA and the U.S.-Korea FTA as well as withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the critique of FTAs, the U.S. balance of trade is frequently held out as evidence of the supposed harmful effect of FTAs. Frank Lavin and Fredrik Erixon will share their recent study of NAFTA, U.S. steel trade, and the role of FTAs and present their findings that among other benefits, FTAs improve the U.S. balance of trade.