After the collapse of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization talks, agricultural subsidies and market liberalization went high on the political agenda. This work features historical documents that address the thorny relationship between trade and politics, the appropriate role of international regulation, and domestic concerns.
After the collapse of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization talks, agricultural subsidies and market liberalization went high on the political agenda. This work features historical documents that address the thorny relationship between trade and politics, the appropriate role of international regulation, and domestic concerns.
After the collapse of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization talks, agricultural subsidies and market liberalization went high on the political agenda. This work features historical documents that address the thorny relationship between trade and politics, the appropriate role of international regulation, and domestic concerns.
After the collapse of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization talks, agricultural subsidies and market liberalization went high on the political agenda. This work features historical documents that address the thorny relationship between trade and politics, the appropriate role of international regulation, and domestic concerns.
After the collapse of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization talks, agricultural subsidies and market liberalization went high on the political agenda. This work features historical documents that address the thorny relationship between trade and politics, the appropriate role of international regulation, and domestic concerns.
With an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses political history, the history of ideas, cultural history and art history, The Victorian World offers a sweeping survey of the world in the nineteenth century. This volume offers a fresh evaluation of Britain and its global presence in the years from the 1830s to the 1900s. It brings together scholars from history, literary studies, art history, historical geography, historical sociology, criminology, economics and the history of law, to explore more than 40 themes central to an understanding of the nature of Victorian society and culture, both in Britain and in the rest of the world. Organised around six core themes – the world order, economy and society, politics, knowledge and belief, and culture – The Victorian World offers thematic essays that consider the interplay of domestic and global dynamics in the formation of Victorian orthodoxies. A further section on ‘Varieties of Victorianism’ offers considerations of the production and reproduction of external versions of Victorian culture, in India, Africa, the United States, the settler colonies and Latin America. These thematic essays are supplemented by a substantial introductory essay, which offers a challenging alternative to traditional interpretations of the chronology and periodisation of the Victorian years. Lavishly illustrated, vivid and accessible, this volume is invaluable reading for all students and scholars of the nineteenth century.
An updated look at global trade and why it remains as controversial as ever Free trade is always under attack, more than ever in recent years. The imposition of numerous U.S. tariffs in 2018, and the retaliation those tariffs have drawn, has thrust trade issues to the top of the policy agenda. Critics contend that free trade brings economic pain, including plant closings and worker layoffs, and that trade agreements serve corporate interests, undercut domestic environmental regulations, and erode national sovereignty. Why are global trade and agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership so controversial? Does free trade deserve its bad reputation? In Free Trade under Fire, Douglas Irwin sweeps aside the misconceptions that run rampant in the debate over trade and gives readers a clear understanding of the issues involved. In its fifth edition, the book has been updated to address the sweeping new policy developments under the Trump administration and the latest research on the impact of trade.
A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year: “Tells the history of American trade policy . . . [A] grand narrative [that] also debunks trade-policy myths.” —Economist Should the United States be open to commerce with other countries, or should it protect domestic industries from foreign competition? This question has been the source of bitter political conflict throughout American history. Such conflict was inevitable, James Madison argued in the Federalist Papers, because trade policy involves clashing economic interests. The struggle between the winners and losers from trade has always been fierce because dollars and jobs are at stake: depending on what policy is chosen, some industries, farmers, and workers will prosper, while others will suffer. Douglas A. Irwin’s Clashing over Commerce is the most authoritative and comprehensive history of US trade policy to date, offering a clear picture of the various economic and political forces that have shaped it. From the start, trade policy divided the nation—first when Thomas Jefferson declared an embargo on all foreign trade and then when South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over excessive taxes on imports. The Civil War saw a shift toward protectionism, which then came under constant political attack. Then, controversy over the Smoot-Hawley tariff during the Great Depression led to a policy shift toward freer trade, involving trade agreements that eventually produced the World Trade Organization. Irwin makes sense of this turbulent history by showing how different economic interests tend to be grouped geographically, meaning that every proposed policy change found ready champions and opponents in Congress. Deeply researched and rich with insight and detail, Clashing over Commerce provides valuable and enduring insights into US trade policy past and present. “Combines scholarly analysis with a historian’s eye for trends and colorful details . . . readable and illuminating, for the trade expert and for all Americans wanting a deeper understanding of America’s evolving role in the global economy.” —National Review “Magisterial.” —Foreign Affairs
This volume takes up the story of exacerbated political divisions from 1841 onwards, with a clearer demarcation in political life caused at least partly by commercial policy considerations. Ultimately, the success of free trade policies, implemented by Sir Robert Peel after 1841, saw the reconfiguration of political parties and had lasting effects and impact on party politics. Yet in the period up to 1879, there was a broad consensus on maintaining the free trade settlement of 1846. This period, often seen as a ‘free trade interlude’ book-ended by a far more complex range of opinions, policies, and strategies surrounding commercial policy, was characterised by British manufacturing expansion, deeper penetration of foreign and colonial markets, and the adoption of freer trade policies by foreign nations. Ultimately, none of these developments lasted in the long term. By the end of 1879, commercial policy was again controversial. The type of sources in this volume include correspondence from The Panmure Papers, the Later Correspondence of Lord John Russell, and diary material from Lord Ashley and John Bright. There is also a considerable body of material from newspapers, including the Morning Chronicle, Northern Star, Manchester Guardian, and Liverpool Mercury. Manuscript materials from Richard Cobden, John Benjamin Smith, and Lord John Russell among others are also present.
This is the inside story of the US–China trade war, how relations between these superpowers unraveled, darkening prospects for global peace and prosperity, as told by two Wall Street Journal reporters, one based in Washington, D.C., the other in Beijing, who have had more access to the decision makers in the White House and in China’s Zhongnanhai leadership compound than anyone else. The trade battle between China and the U.S. didn’t start with Trump and won’t end with him, argue Bob Davis and Lingling Wei. The two countries have a long and fraught political and economic history which has become more contentious over the past three years—an escalation that has negatively impacted both countries' economies and the world at large—and holds the potential for even more uncertainty and disruption. How did this stand-off happen? How much are U.S. presidents and officials who haven't effectively confronted or negotiated with China to blame? What role have Chinese leaders, and U.S. business leaders who for decades acted as Beijing’s lobbyists in Washington, played in driving tensions between the two countries? Superpower Showdown is the story of a romance gone bad. Uniquely positioned to tell the story, Davis and Wei have conducted hundreds of interviews with government and business officials in both nations over the seven years they have worked together writing for the Wall Street Journal. Analyzing U.S.–China relations, they explain how we have reached this tipping point, and look at where we could be headed. Vivid and provocative, Superpower Showdown will help readers understand the context of the trade war and prepare them for what may come next.
