Trade Policy, New Century: The Wto, Ftas And Asia Rising

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In recent years, debates on international trade policy have focused on the role of the World Trade Organization and the two big political and economic powers - the USA and the EU. In this book, the author, an expert in trade policy, argues that this focus must change. Large supra-national institutions have become bogged down and are no longer in a position to drive trade liberalisation. Also, the world's fastest growing economies are those Asian economies that have embraced free trade, in many cases going beyond international requirements. Asian countries - China most conspicuously - have been taking the initiative by pursuing free trade unilaterally. This must continue and spread. The Western developed economies should respond by removing their own protectionism. Unilateral action, not trade negotiations, is the key: the world cannot wait for the WTO. If a unilateral commitment to free trade is to stick, it must be fixed in a general attitude of economic liberalism in the domestic economy. This applies as much to newly emerging economies as to the USA and the EU. In this tour de force of international trade policy, Razeen Sally is realistic about the ability of existing institutions to deliver free trade 'from above', but optimistic about the prospects for the world economy as a result of unilateral liberalisation 'from below'.

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Trade Policy, New Century The WTO, FTAs and Asia Rising Trade Policy, New Century The WTO, FTAs and Asia Rising razeen sally The Institute of Economic Affairs contents First published in Great Britain in 2008 by The Institute of Economic Affairs 2 Lord North Street Westminster London sw1p 3lb in association with Profile Books Ltd The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve public understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society, by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. Copyright © The Institute of Economic Affairs 2008 The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. isbn 978 0 255 36544 4 Many IEA publications are translated into languages other than English or are reprinted. Permission to translate or to reprint should be sought from the Director General at the address above. Typeset in Stone by MacGuru Ltd [email protected] Printed and bound in Great Britain by Hobbs the Printers The author Foreword by Guy de Jonquières Acknowledgements Summary List of tables and figures Glossary 1 A short introduction 2 Free trade versus protection From classical antiquity to the Middle Ages Mercantilism The emergence of free-trade doctrine Free trade in Smith and Hume: an elaboration Free trade versus protection: nineteenth-century developments Freetrade versus protection: twentieth-century developments Conclusion 3 The political economy of trade policy The global climate for external liberalisation 9 10 13 14 17 19 23 27 28 30 32 34 41 44 47 50 52 Trade-policy reforms: the recent experience, with country examples Political economy and trade-policy reforms Multi-track trade policy What lessons for future liberalisation? Conclusion 4 The World Trade Organization From GATT to WTO The Doha Round The future of the WTO Conclusion 5 Preferential Trade Agreements Building