Introduction The international system of the 19th century was a very significant era for the doctrine and practice of free trade. This key date in the 19th century was 1846, the year England repealed the Corn Laws. The Corn Laws had protected British aristocrats and farmers from imported corn. Corn in this period was used to make bread. This dispute pitted industrialists and many workers against landowners and farmers. The industrialist wanted cheap corn so that he could lower the cost of bread and be able to reduce or reduce workers' wages. This would give their products a competitive advantage in international markets over products from nations where the cost of food and wages were high. Workers in Britain also supported this law because they wanted to buy cheap bread. David Ricardo, a stock trader and member of parliament, articulated the liberal theory of comparative advantage that intellectually supported free trade. Today this theory of comparative advantage has remained the foundation of arguments for economic integration and free trade. The overall aim of this article is to try to answer these questions: • Does free trade improve or retard development in developing countries? • Free trade is truly free. Free trade is trade between two or more countries without any limitations imposed by governments or governments? other regulators; therefore the free movement of goods and services across national borders (O'Brien and Williams, 2007 p.139). (Vander.W, 2005 p.24). It aims to liberalize nations' markets through the elimination of tariffs, quotas and other forms of restrictions to allow the free flow of products across national borders. Benefits of free tradeTrade openness. Free trade remained a foundation… middle of paper… the barrel: the African oil boom and the poor. Available at http://www.crsprogramquality.org/storage/peacebuilding/Bottom%20of%20the%20barrel.pdf European Commission, (2012). Trade, growth and development; Adapt trade and investment policy to the countries most in need [SEC (2012) 87 final]. O'Brien, R. and Williams, M. (eds) (2007) Global Political Economy: Evolution and Dynamics. 2nd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave.OECD, (2009). Journal on Development Trading Out of Poverty; How Aid for Trade Can Help.World Bank (2000) World Development Indicators 2000. Washington DC: World Bank [Online] Available at http://data.worldbank.org/indicatorStop Free Trade: Available at http://www.stopftaa .org/is-free-trade-really-free-what-it-costs-a-country.htmlUNCTAD, (2004). Least Developed Countries Report. UNCTAD/LDC/2004 (Overview), sales nE03.II.D.9.