 United States Trade Policy: From Multilateralism to Bilateralism?Charles Pearson and James Riedel Chapter 4 in The New Protectionist Wave, 1990, pp 100-119 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract Trade policy matters. On this point, history is clear. Rising barriers and rampant discrimination in international trade in the interwar years were a major cause of the Great Depression. Following World War II, multilateral tariff reductions on a most-favored-nation (MFN) basis contributed to an unprecedented expansion of both international trade and prosperity in the world economy. In both episodes the United States played a leading role. There is, however, growing evidence that the pendulum of protectionism has begun to swing in the opposite direction, and of particular concern is the policy of the United States. The concern is not so much that the United States has in recent years taken the lead in raising barriers to trade; that dubious distinction probably belongs to the EC. Rather it is that the United States is abandoning its commitment to the postwar multilateral trading system which it took the lead in creating and in which it serves as the linchpin. Keywords: Fair Trade; Trade Policy; Tariff Policy; Liberal Trade; Voluntary Export Restraint (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-11064-3_4 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-11064-3_4 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan |
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