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Synonyms

free trade

American  

noun

  1. trade between countries, free from governmental restrictions or duties.

  2. international trade free from protective duties and subject only to such tariffs as are needed for revenue.

  3. the system, principles, or maintenance of such trade.

  4. Chiefly Scot. smuggling.

free trade British  

noun

  1. international trade that is free of such government interference as import quotas, export subsidies, protective tariffs, etc Compare protection

  2. archaic illicit trade; smuggling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
free trade Cultural  

  1. Unrestricted trade among nations without government tariffs or customs duties on imports.

Other Word Forms

  • free-trade adjective
  • prefree-trade adjective

Etymology

Origin of free trade

First recorded in 1600–10

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.