Read complete books and articles on: Free Trade

Free Trade - in modern usage, trade or commerce carried on without such restrictions as import duties, export bounties, domestic production subsidies, trade quotas, or import licenses. The basic argument for free trade is based on the economic theory of comparative advantage: each region should concentrate on what it can produce most cheaply and efficiently and should exchange its products for

Internal Free Trade

Free trade within national borders is in some countries a comparatively recent development. Jean Baptiste Colbert tried to abolish internal trade barriers in France in the 17th cent., but that was not accomplished until the French Revolution, a hundred years later. In the German states Prussia took the lead in organizing the Zollverein movement after 1818. The desire to assure freedom from internal trade barriers in the United States was a factor in calling the Constitutional Convention. In Britain, the classic home of the free-trade movement, the term free trade was first used during the agitation for removal of the privileges of the chartered companies in the 17th cent.

International Free Trade

In 18th-century Britain, free trade eventually came to mean the desire for a moderate tariff policy in international trade, especially with France. The rapid growth of British industry in the late 1700s (see Industrial Revolution) gave added force to the attack on international trade restrictions (see mercantilism). Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) provided a powerful intellectual basis for the free trade movement, and the later work of David Ricardo was important in developing the notion of comparative advantage as an argument in its favor. The most important practical blow in favor of the free-trade movement came with the formation (1839) of the Anti-Corn-Law League, and the repeal (1846) of the corn laws. The Anglo-French commercial treaty of 1860 represented perhaps the high-water mark of free trade.

After World War I, Britain reintroduced protection and a system of imperial preference in an attempt to establish a greater measure of economic autonomy. France, along with other European nations, historically followed a policy of protection. In the period of international economic dislocation in the mid-1930s, the United States reversed earlier policy and signed reciprocal trade treaties with many foreign governments, embracing a policy of selective tariff reduction for economic and political reasons. At present the United States is a relatively low tariff nation, although it still maintains a fairly restrictive system of import quotas. Japan also has restrictive import quotas, as well as high tariffs and other trade restrictions.

After World War II, strong sentiment developed throughout the world against protection and high tariffs and in favor of freer trade. The results were new organizations and agreements on international trade such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1948), the Benelux Economic Union (1948), the European Economic Community (Common Market, 1957), the European Free Trade Association (1959), Mercosur (the Southern Cone Common Market, 1991), and the World Trade Organization (1995). In 1993 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was approved by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In the early 1990s the nations of the European Union (the successor organization to the Common Market) undertook to remove all barriers to the free movement of trade and employment across their mutual borders.

Critics of free trade zones argue that such measures are detrimental to domestic economies. In the case of NAFTA, for example, opponents contended that the jobs of some American workers would be "exported" to Mexico, where labor costs are lower. Many have continued to oppose the international impetus toward freer trade, arguing the accords not only fail to protect jobs in more developed nations but also harm workers and the environment in less developed nations, where the laws are more lax or less enforced. Despite such objections, the free trade movement remains strong. In Apr., 2001, for example, 34 nations of the Western Hemisphere committed themselves to the development of a Free Trade Area of the Americas, and in Dec., 2003, the Central American Free Trade Agreement was signed by the United States and four Central American nations.

16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Free Trade

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Free Trade Today » Read Now
by Jagdish Bhagwati. 128 pgs.

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"Jagdish Bhagwati combines impressive theoretical skills with a rare talent for clear exposition. He has had a profound influence on trade policy thinking among scholars and practitioners. Once again he brings his formidable analytical gifts to bear in these lectures. They should be read by...
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"Jagdish Bhagwati combines impressive theoretical skills with a rare talent for clear exposition. He has had a profound influence on trade policy thinking among scholars and practitioners. Once again he brings his formidable analytical gifts to bear in these lectures. They should be read by everybody who wants to understand the case for trade and why it sometimes seems so difficult to make that case."--Michael Moore, Director General, World Trade Organization
"Professor Bhagwati is our most powerful and persuasive advocate of free trade. In this book he does two important things: he punctures all the standard false arguments for protection, and he uses the modern theory of commercial policy to suggest how a balanced approach to trade and social policy might look. And all of this comes in a compact, lively, and readable package."--Robert M. Solow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1987 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
"Trade liberalization in the second half of the twentieth century brought huge benefits, especially to those less-developed countries which seized the new opportunities. Now these gains are being threatened by 'Seattle-person, ' the offspring of an alliance between forces of ignorance and special interests. Jagdish Bhagwati's courageous stand against this threat merits our admiration. His rigorous yet lively restatement of the case for free trade should be required reading for all participants in the public debate on globalization."--Avinash K. Dixit, Princeton University
"Bhagwati is the prime warrior for free trade. In this splendid book, he encapsulates all major arguments in favor of free trade and debunks many arguments against it in a lucid andentertaining style. The arguments are up to date, addressing all key issues of the last decade."--Elhanan Helpman, Harvard University and Tel Aviv University
"Jagdish Bhagwati is easily the most creative international trade theoris
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2.

How Nations Grow Rich: The Case for Free Trade » Read Now
by Melvyn Krauss. 146 pgs.

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There can be no doubt, writes economist Melvyn Krauss, that the prosperity of the industrial nations since the Second World War has been due largely to global specialization and interdependence. No one country does all tasks today -- products are designed in one country, produced in another and...
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There can be no doubt, writes economist Melvyn Krauss, that the prosperity of the industrial nations since the Second World War has been due largely to global specialization and interdependence. No one country does all tasks today -- products are designed in one country, produced in another and assembled in a third. The increased standard of living resulting from global specialization in turn has led to the growth of the modern welfare state, including an increased demand for economic security and social measures which guarantee politically-determined minimum consumption standards for citizens. Ironically, says Krauss, as the debate over the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the recently established World Trade Organization demonstrate, today''s welfare state has evolved into a protectionist state. U.S. consumer advocates (Ralph Nader) see free trade as a threat to consumerist legislation. U.S. environmentalists (Jerry Brown) see free trade as a threat to environmental legislation. U.S. human rights advocates (Anna Quindlin) see free trade as a threat to human rights abroad. In How Nations Grow Rich, Krauss argues there is no inherent reason why the growth of the welfare state in the Western industrial countries should conflict with free trade that is, there is no inherent reason for the welfare state to be protectionist. Exposing fallacious "welfare state" arguments for protection, Krauss makes a powerful case for free trade in general, and NAFTA in particular, as mechanisms for raising U.S. living standards. Americans are made better off through a reallocation of U.S. productive resources from lower-to-higher productivity uses--from textiles to computers, for example. Moreover, by raising wages in Mexico relative to the U.S., Krauss expects NAFTA to help reduce both legal and illegal immigration. Were states like California to reduce their generous social services and affirmative action programs, labor immigration from Mexico would fall to politically acceptable levels. Krauss'' novel insight that migration and foreign trade are alternative means of effectuating international exchange is used in this lively and informative book to shed light on a host of important policy issues. By the very act of restricting textile and apparel imports, the U.S. virtually compels foreign textile workers to migrate to the U.S. The European Union''s tariff against East European exports provokes a flood of Eastern workers to Western Europe. In How Nations Grow Rich, Krauss dispatches both traditional and newer arguments for protection with unusual verve and clarity. Addressing the belief that protectionism boosts employment, he points out that import restrictions can destroy U.S. jobs when imposed on materials we use as parts. For example, in 1991, Apple and Toshiba suffered a dramatic increase in their production costs as a result of a 63% tariff on imported Japanese flat-panel display screens. This "protect-America" policy backfired, causing these two mega-companies to move their production facilities abroad. In response to protectionist demands that the U.S. close its markets until Japan reduces its trade barriers against U.S. goods--that trade be fair before it can be free--Krauss points out that in a market economy where consumers are kings, only a consumer-based equity standard is valid. Thus what the "fair trade" protectionist argument really comes down to is the nonsensical proposition that because foreign countries damage their consumers by foolish protectionist measures, equity demands the United States follow suit. This wide-ranging and stimulating book clarifies such important and often inaccessible issues as development policy, foreign aid, trade sanctions, child labor, human rights trade linkages, immigration, European Monetary Union and affirmative action trade policies. How Nations Grow Rich is must reading for anyone concerned with public policy and international economics.
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3.

The Tradition of Free Trade » Read Now
by Lars Magnusson. 194 pgs.

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Investigation of the invention of "free trade versus protectionism" debate in the nineteenth century is the aim of this new book. It looks at how the ideas of Smith and Ricardo and the classical economists were interpreted by later writers in Britain, Sweden and America.
4.

The Race to the Bottom: Why a Worldwide Worker Surplus and Uncontrolled Free Trade Are Sinking American Living Standards » Read Now
by Alan Tonelson. 222 pgs.

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European and US multinationals are transferring factories to poorer countries, where slave-wage workers undermine the bargaining power of labour in the industrialised world.
5.

Free Trade and Moral Philosophy: Rethinking the Sources of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations » Read Now
by Richard F. Teichgraeber III. 232 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...Free Trade and Moral Philosophy Free Trade and Moral Philosophy Rethinking the Sources of Adam Smiths Wealth...Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Teichgraeber, Richard...
6.

Global Constitutionalism and the Arguments over Free Trade, in Communication Studies » Read Now
by M. Lane Bruner. 15 pgs.

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...constitutionalism and the arguments over free trade. by M. Lane Bruner In...in Seattle, the struggle between free trade advocates and their opponents is...wrote a speech...
7.

Globaphobia: Confronting Fears about Open Trade ("Traditional Qualifications to Free Trade" begins on p. 24) » Read Now
by Gary Burtless, Robert Z. Lawrence, Robert E. Litan, Robert J. Shapiro. 176 pgs.

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For much of the post-World War II period, the increasing globalization of the U.S. economy was welcomed by policymakers and by the American people. We gained the benefits of cheaper and, in some cases, better foreign-made products, while U.S. firms gained wider access to foreign markets. The...
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For much of the post-World War II period, the increasing globalization of the U.S. economy was welcomed by policymakers and by the American people. We gained the benefits of cheaper and, in some cases, better foreign-made products, while U.S. firms gained wider access to foreign markets. The increasing economic interlinkages with the rest of the world helped promote capitalism and democracy around the globe. Indeed, we helped "win" the Cold War by trading and investing with the rest of the world, in the process demonstrating to all concerned the virtues of trade and markets. In recent years, however, a growing chorus of complaints has been lodged against globalization--which is blamed for costing American workers their jobs and lowering their wages. The authors of this book speak directly and simply to these concerns, demonstrating with easy prose and illustrations why the "globaphobes" are wrong. Globalization has not cost the United States jobs. Nor has it played any more than a small part in the disappointing trends in wages of many American workers. The challenge for all Americans is to embrace globalization and all of the benefits it brings, while adopting targeted policies to ease the very real pain of those few Americans whom globalization may harm. Globaphobia outlines a novel, yet sensible program for advancing this objective. Copublished with the Twentieth Century Fund and the Progressive Policy Institute
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8.

In Defense of Global Capitalism (Part III "Free Trade Is Fair Trade") » Read Now
by Johan Norberg. 321 pgs.

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Marshalling facts and the latest research findings, the author systematically refutes the adversaries of globalization, markets, and progress. This book will change the debate on globalization in this country and make believers of skeptics.
9.

Policy Choices: Free Trade among NAFTA Nations » Read Now
by Karen Roberts, Mark I. Wilson. 336 pgs.

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Policy Choices: Free Trade Among NAFTA Nations is the third volume in a series created to shed light on critical public policy issues in Michigan's future. The articles in this collection are dedicated to a single policy theme -- the effect of the integration of the North American economy on Michigan.
10.

Regionalism, Multilateralism, and Economic Integration: The Recent Experience (Chap. 4 "The EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement: Assessing the EU Approach to Regulatory Issues," Chap. 6 "The North American Free Trade Agreement," and Chap. 7 "The Chile-Canada Free Trade Agreement") » Read Now
by Gary P. Sampson, Stephen Woolcock. 379 pgs.

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This publication considers whether regional trade agreements have led to a new form of economic co-operation, by promoting deeper integration in the regulatory structures of participating countries. An examination of recent experiences are found to show that, although there is no single model for...
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This publication considers whether regional trade agreements have led to a new form of economic co-operation, by promoting deeper integration in the regulatory structures of participating countries. An examination of recent experiences are found to show that, although there is no single model for deeper integration, regional trade agreements have generally more effective than more remote WTO procedures in facilitating trade and improving transparency. Regional processes and rules are found to have been consistent with the multilateral obligations of each party, with additional commitments in the regional agreements complementing WTO rules.
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11.

Toward Free and Fair Trade: A Global Public Good Perspective, in Challenge » Read Now
by Ronald Mendoza, Chandrika Bahadur. 42 pgs.

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...have long preached the advantage of free trade for the worlds developing nations...and why. The authors argue that the free trade regime is often rigged against the...and...
12.

The Future of Hemispheric Free Trade: Towards a Unified Hemisphere?, in Houston Journal of International Law » Read Now
by Lisa Anderson. 35 pgs.

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...The future of hemispheric free trade: towards a unified hemisphere...INTRODUCTION Although the push for free trade among neighboring nations has been...treaties between...
13.

Saving Free Trade: A Pragmatic Approach » Read Now
by Robert Z. Lawrence, Robert E. Litan. 132 pgs.

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...Saving Free Trade Saving Free Trade A Pragmatic Approach ROBERT Z. LAWRENCE ROBERT E. LITAN...Cataloging-in-Publication data : Lawrence, Robert Z., 1949- Saving free trade...
14.

Reconciling Free Trade, Fair Trade, and Interdependence: The Rhetoric of Presidential Economic Leadership » Read Now
by Delia B. Conti. 171 pgs.

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Conti examines presidential rhetoric on trade, providing a detailed analysis of presidential trade arguments and strategies throughout American history, with a concentration on the rhetoric of contemporary presidents from Reagan to Clinton.
15.

Zapata's Revenge: Free Trade and the Farm Crisis in Mexico » Read Now
by Tom Barry. 317 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Visions of a modernized and industrialized Mexico competing in the global market clash with the sobering reality of a desperate peasantry and falling agricultural production. The crisis and rebellion in Chiapas is the same one confronting most of Mexico and the Third World. Tom Barry views the...
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Visions of a modernized and industrialized Mexico competing in the global market clash with the sobering reality of a desperate peasantry and falling agricultural production. The crisis and rebellion in Chiapas is the same one confronting most of Mexico and the Third World. Tom Barry views the crisis that confronts Mexico as alarming evidence of the incapacity of neoliberal and free trade policies to foster broad economic development. Barry shows that such policies have resulted in reduced food security, environmental destruction, increased rural-urban polarization, depopulation of peasant communities, and social and political instability.
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16.

The Political Economy of the World Trading System: From GATT to WTO » Read Now
by Bernard M. Hoekman, Michel M. Kostecki. 320 pgs.

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The World Trade Organization is likely to be a major international organization for the foreseeable future. This volume, the first full-length study of the WTO and GATT from the viewpoint of public choice and political economy, details the mechanics of the multilateral trading system that emerged...
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The World Trade Organization is likely to be a major international organization for the foreseeable future. This volume, the first full-length study of the WTO and GATT from the viewpoint of public choice and political economy, details the mechanics of the multilateral trading system that emerged from the Uruguay Round of GATT. The authors, who were involved in the negotiations of the Uruguay Round, explain why WTO rules are phrased the way they are, the successes and failures of WTO and GATT, and how business, industrial associations and political lobbies influence the multilateral trading system.
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