Clashing Over Commerce

Clashing Over Commerce

Author: Douglas A. Irwin

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2017-11-29

Total Pages: 873

ISBN-13: 022639901X

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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


The Rise of U.S. Antidumping Activity in Historical Perspective

The Rise of U.S. Antidumping Activity in Historical Perspective

Author: Douglas A. Irwin

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2005-02

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

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Empirical studies of antidumping activity focus almost exclusively on the period since 1980. This paper puts recent U.S. antidumping experience in historical context by studying the determinants of annual case filings over the past half century. The conventional view that few antidumping cases existed prior to 1980 is not correct, although most did not result in the imposition of duties. The increased number of cases in recent decades largely reflects petitions that target multiple source countries; the number of imported products involved has actually fallen since the mid 1980s. The annual number of antidumping cases is influenced by the unemployment rate, the exchange rate, import penetration (closely related to the decline in average tariffs), and changes in the antidumping law and enforcement in the early 1980s.


WTO

WTO

Author: Rüdiger Wolfrum

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 1005

ISBN-13: 9004145656

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In the decade since the establishment of the WTO, the great majority of disputes between member states resolved and decided through the dispute settlement system of the WTO arose in the field of trade remedies law, a fact which clearly shows the high demand by the trade community for the rule of law in this area. Responsive to such needs, the fourth volume encompasses the whole range of trade remedies regulation under the auspices of the WTO in the respective articles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the related multilateral agreements on trade in goods, i.e., Articles VI, XII, XIX GATT 1994; the Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments; the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement); the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Duties; and the Agreement on Safeguards. Leading practitioners and scholars have gathered to provide an invaluable insight and easy access to the law on trade remedies in an article-by-article commentary approach. As such, it will be an essential work not only for trade remedies practitioners but to persons interested in trade remedies be they scholars, academics, international and domestic lawyers, political scientists and economists, or NGO representatives.


Essentials of WTO Law

Essentials of WTO Law

Author: Peter Van den Bossche

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-04-02

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1107638933

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This concise and reader-friendly overview of WTO law is essential reading for anyone needing an introduction to this complex field.


The Law and Economics of Contingent Protection in the WTO

The Law and Economics of Contingent Protection in the WTO

Author: Petros C. Mavroidis

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 633

ISBN-13: 1848440146

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All three parts [of the book] are without question extremely detailed and thorough treatises of the three different instruments of contingent protection. The case law of the DSB as well as policy proposals put forward in the Doha Round are referred to and analysed extensively. Every part of the book is an excellent and very thoughtful work on the respective instrument and will be helpful for everyone working in the field. Christoph Herrmann, Common Market Law Review Although the legal landscape is littered with literature about the WTO, antidumping, safeguards, subsidies and countervailing measures, the missing piece has been a comprehensive text tying together the law and economics of these topics. Mavroidis, Messerlin and Wauters fill this gap. The authors form an unparalleled triumvirate who successfully draw on their complementary legal-economic experiences from policymaking, practitioner expertise and academic scholarship to comprehensively examine contingent protection. In a single book, they manage to explain the economics to the lawyers, the law to the economists, and the increasing importance of contingent protection policies to everyone. Chad P. Bown, Brandeis University, US The new book by Petros Mavroidis, Patrick Messerlin and Jasper Wauters, The Law and Economics of Contingent Protection in the WTO, fills a gap in the international trade literature by providing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary (law and economics) treatment of three of the most arcane and least well-understood trade protection regimes permitted under the GATT/WTO, i.e., anti-dumping, countervailing duties, and safeguards. The authors expertly weave together both a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the complex legal rules and case law with an economic critique of the law governing each of these three regimes. The book is a tour de force and will become the standard reference work for scholars, policy makers, and practitioners specializing in these areas. Michael Trebilcock, University of Toronto, Canada Trade barriers that are contingent on the existence of specific conditions dumping by, or subsidization of, exporters, and injury of domestic firms have historically been used intensively by many OECD countries and are now increasingly applied by developing countries. This volume provides an excellent discussion and accessible analysis of WTO rules on contingent protection and the rapidly expanding case law. The authors have done a major service to both legal practitioners and trade policy analysts with an interest in this area. Bernard Hoekman, The World Bank, US In this important book, three of the leading authors in the field of international economic law discuss the law and economics of the three most frequently used contingent protection instruments: anti-dumping, countervailing measures, and safeguards. When discussing countervailing measures, the authors also discuss legal challenges against prohibited and/or actionable subsidies. The authors choice is mandated by the fact that the effects of a subsidy cannot always be confined to the market of the WTO Member wishing to react against it. Assuming there are effects outside its market, an injured WTO Member can challenge the scheme as such before a WTO Panel. Taking the three agreements for granted as a starting point, the book provides comprehensive discussion of both the original contracts, and the case law that has substantially contributed to the understanding of these agreements. The agreements discussed by the authors provide generally worded disciplines on Members and leave a lot of discretion to the investigating authorities of such Members. A great number of the many questions that arise in the course of a domestic trade remedies investigation are not explicitly addressed in these agreements. In such a situation, the authors highlight the important role that the judge has to play. Much like domestic investigating authorities adopt a line which is either more liberal


The Effects of U.S. Trade Protection and Promotion Policies

The Effects of U.S. Trade Protection and Promotion Policies

Author: Robert C. Feenstra

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0226239535

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Economists disagree on whether recent U.S. trade policies are harmful or helpful, but they all agree that there is a new trend toward focusing on results-oriented policies in specific markets and with particular trading partners. These twelve essays by leading international economists explore crucial issues in U.S. trade policy today. Topics examined include the markets for automobile and automobile parts in the United States and Japan, the U.S. response to "unfair" trading practices such as dumping, and the effects of industry- and country-specific policies. Examples include high-technology and agricultural industries and off-shore assembly in U.S. border cities. The volume concludes that some policies can act to both protect imports and promote exports, that the threat of protectionist policies can often have effects that are as pronounced as their implementation, and that regulatory policy has as great an impact on trade and investment patterns as does trade policy itself. It will be of crucial interest to international trade economists, policy specialists, and political scientists.


Dumping and Antidumping Trade Protection

Dumping and Antidumping Trade Protection

Author: Bruce A. Blonigen

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781788114394

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Antidumping trade protection is one of the most frequent and ubiquitous trade policies in the global economy. This volume brings together the key reference pieces in the antidumping literature that have critically defined and shaped what we know about this important and unique form of trade protection. An introductory chapter by the editors, both scholars in this area, critically analyzes the literature and discusses its future directions. This is an important reference volume not only for new and established scholars in international economics, but also policymakers and legal intellectuals.


China's Growing Role in World Trade

China's Growing Role in World Trade

Author: Robert C. Feenstra

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2010-03-10

Total Pages: 603

ISBN-13: 0226239721

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In less than three decades, China has grown from playing a negligible role in international trade to being one of the world's largest exporters, a substantial importer of raw materials, intermediate outputs, and other goods, and both a recipient and source of foreign investment. Not surprisingly, China's economic dynamism has generated considerable attention and concern in the United States and beyond. While some analysts have warned of the potential pitfalls of China's rise—the loss of jobs, for example—others have highlighted the benefits of new market and investment opportunities for US firms. Bringing together an expert group of contributors, China's Growing Role in World Trade undertakes an empirical investigation of the effects of China's new status. The essays collected here provide detailed analyses of the microstructure of trade, the macroeconomic implications, sector-level issues, and foreign direct investment. This volume's careful examination of micro data in light of established economic theories clarifies a number of misconceptions, disproves some conventional wisdom, and documents data patterns that enhance our understanding of China's trade and what it may mean to the rest of the world.


Managing the Challenges of WTO Participation

Managing the Challenges of WTO Participation

Author: Peter Gallagher

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-12-15

Total Pages: 682

ISBN-13: 9781139449007

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This 2005 compilation of 45 case studies documents disparate experiences among economies in addressing the challenges of participating in the WTO. It demonstrates that success or failure is strongly influenced by how governments and private sector stakeholders organise themselves at home. The contributors, mainly from developing countries, give examples of participation with lessons for others. They show that when the system is accessed and employed effectively, it can serve the interests of poor and rich countries alike. However, a failure to communicate among interested parties at home often contributes to negative outcomes on the international front. Above all, these case studies demonstrate that the WTO creates a framework within which sovereign decision-making can unleash important opportunities or undermine the potential benefits flowing from a rules-based international environment that promotes open trade.