When the United States was founded, South Carolina legislators were some of the country’s most forceful advocates of free trade. By the 1980s, this record was reversed, as politicians attempted to protect the state’s textile industry from international competition. But in recent years, South Carolina’s congressional delegation has increasingly embraced the state’s free trade roots. The benefits that international trade and investment bring to South Carolina are overwhelming. Over 100,000 South Carolinians owe their jobs to foreign direct investment; 113,800 people make goods destined for foreign markets; 6,800 people work at the state’s ports; and 198,837 people work where foreign goods are sold. South Carolina’s delegates can best represent the interests of their state by rejecting protectionist policies that reward special interests at the expense of everyone else.