Final answer:
Groups opposing free trade include the anti-globalization movement, industries seeking protective measures, and owners of production in non-competitive sectors. They cite negative impacts on the environment, worker rights, and economic disparities, often challenging international organizations and agreements that promote liberalized trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
The groups that oppose free trade due to its negative impacts include the anti-globalization movement, industry lobbying for protective tariffs or quotas, critics advocating for protectionist policies to shield domestic industries, and owners of factors of production in industries lacking a comparative advantage. Concerns revolve around the perceived impacts on local economies, environmental standards, workers' rights, and the economic gap between industrialized and developing nations. The anti-globalization movement specifically targets institutions like the WTO and free trade agreements they believe promote neoliberalism without adequate ethical standards.
Within national borders, the conflict often arises between laws promoting protectionism and international agreements aiming to reduce it. International trade agreements, such as those enforced by the WTO, sometimes offer a way for countries to restrain domestic special interests. While consumers may suffer the impacts of free trade, the difficulty in organizing large groups with diffuse interests compared to narrow, well-defined industry groups explains their lack of organized opposition.