Trade Liberalization among Industrial Countries [antikvár]

During the last decade, rapid economic growth and the establish- ment of the Common Market have changed economic power rela- tions in the Atlantic area to a considerable extent. In the atmosphere of détente between East and West, these developments have con- tributed to demands on the part of Europeans to share more fully in the making of decisions affecting their interests in political, economic, and military questions. The new situation facing the United States calls for a reappraisal of American policies regarding U.S.-European relationships and a rethinking of the objectives these policies may serve. The subject of this book is trade policy—the choice among alterna- tive trade arrangements, regional as well as multilateral. But such an investigation cannot be restricted to a comparison of the economic effects of possible alternatives. Rather, trade arrangements should be evaluated from the standpoint of the political and economic objectives they are supposed to serve. It is necessary, therefore, to make explicit what these political objectives are and what benefits trade liberalization can bring to the industrial countries. At the same time, we cannot limit the discussion to trade relations between the United States and Western Europe, since trade between them affects the interests of Canada and Japan, and the United States has important interests in both countries. Furthermore, in evaluating alternative trade arrangements among the industrial countries, one should take account of the possible repercussions of these ar- rangements for developing nations whose economic well-being and political stability are major policy objectives of the United States. This study will accordingly consider the choices facing the United States and the other industrial countries in regard to trade policies and will attempt to evaluate the desirability of trade liberalization and its various alternatives on the basis of political and economic