Reluctant Partners: A History of Multilateral Trade Cooperation, 1850-2000With globalization drawing countries closer together, greater international cooperation is essential for peace and stability. The collective arrangement made by governments to manage their trade relations is one of the few successes of globalization. This book assesses the progress of multilateral trade cooperation, exploring the interests at work and the issues raised in successive postwar rounds of negotiations. It traces how the narrow perception of reciprocity has gradually yielded to a broader evaluation of the benefits to the regime as a whole as the major trading nations have mutually reduced trade barriers. Andrew G. Brown demonstrates the increasing importance of rule making and shows the diversity of issues on which negotiations have focused, such as customs procedures, technical standards, subsidies, anti-dumping duties, intellectual property rights, and the treatment of foreign direct investment. Despite the progress, however, the regime has remained vulnerable. The book also analyzes the major sources of strain that have been evident. This is a nontechnical book for those curious about the possibilities for cooperation among states and should be of interest to both the nonspecialist and the specialist. It draws on more than one discipline to interpret the events, lying in the triangle bounded by political science, economics, and history. Andrew G. Brown is a former Director of the General Analysis and Policies Division for the United Nations, New York. |
Contents
What Shapes National Trade Policy | 6 |
The Founding of the Postwar System | 82 |
Regional Trading Arrangements | 169 |
Copyright | |
2 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
action agreed Agreement on Tariffs agricultural American antidumping bilateral trade Britain British century changes chapter clause Cobden-Chevalier Treaty competition concessions coun decades developing countries disputes domestic economists enterprises eral established countries European countries European Union exchange rate foreign direct investment France free trade agreements gain GATT global governments Havana Charter ideas imports industrially more established institutions international trade interwar issues Japan labor levels major manufactures market access ment most-favored-nation multilateral trade cooperation multilateral trade regime national treatment nationalist nomic nondiscrimination percent political postwar preferential trading area protection protectionist reciprocity reforms restrictions rules and procedures Second World sectors shift South Korea subsidies substantial tariff reductions Tariffs and Trade textiles and apparel tion Tokyo Round trade areas trade barriers trade negotiations trade relations trading arrangements trading partners treaties U.S. administration U.S. Congress unilateral United Uruguay Round World Trade World Trade Organization