Trade Policy in the 1980's - Hardcover

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The twenty contributions in this book, by academics (such as John H. Jackson and J. David Richardson) former government officials (such as C. Fred Bergsten and Harald B. Malmgren) and businessmen (such as John Diebold) address issues in the world trading system. This system which as been of critical importance to both economic prosperity and political harmony throughout the postwar period, now faces strains not seen since the 1930s.

The book assesses the trends in trade policy and the setting within which these problems are occurring, including the impact of international monetary imbalances and the evolution of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. It reviews the objectives and approaches of the United States, the European Community, Japan, and the developing countries and presents detailed analyses of the major issues that have dominated trade policy in recent years: subsidies, safeguards, domestic adjustment to changes in trade patterns, agriculture, textiles and apparel, steel, and automobiles. Issues that will become important subjects of trade policy in this decade - services, trade-related investment practices, and trade in high technology products - are also covered.

Proposals for responding to each of these problems are discussed in the book's conclusion. These include a "constrained ideal" for the world trading regime in the late 1980s and specific suggestions for dealing with the individual issues and for modernizing the whole system. Particular attention is paid to the relationship of trade policy to international monetary developments, the future of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the launching of new international negotiations to handle the wide array of industry and functional problems.