1. A High-Risk Trade Policy.
- Author
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Gordon, Bernard K.
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL trade , *COMMERCE , *TRADE regulation , *REGIONAL economics , *FREE trade , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations - Abstract
This article describes the problems of the foreign trade policy of the United States as of July 1, 2003. The problem regarding the foreign trade policy of the U.S. is the decision to return to economic regionalism, an approach evident in the U.S. efforts underway to build bilateral or regional trade agreements with small trading partners. The aim of the regionalism approach is to induce the world's major trade players, especially Europe and Japan, to complete the multilateral agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The U.S. has also accelerated its free trade areas policy. Aside from the conceptual and practical challenge posed by the free trade areas policy to the WTO, regional free trade policy are also incompatible with the national interest of the country. The growth in regionalism was evident from a preliminary trade data released in 2002. Most attention was centered on Japan because Japan imported more from China than in the U.S. Similar dramatic changes were reported by other East Asian economies. The current trade dilemma and its U.S. foreign policy consequences are due to a widespread belief that the U.S. has not been a successful player in world trade. People in the U.S. believe that the U.S. has not done too well as an exporter. To prevent the trade problems of the U.S., the government should end the promotion of regional blocs.
- Published
- 2003
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