Trade and the American Dream : A Social History of Postwar Trade Policy

by Aaronson, Susan Ariel; Roth, William V., Jr.; Matsui, Robert T.

• ISBN13: 9780813119557
• ISBN10: 0813119553
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-03-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

In Trade and the American Dream, Susan Aaronson highlights a previously ignored dimension of United States trade policy: public understanding. Focusing on the debate over the three mechanisms designed to govern world trade - the International Trade Organization (ITO), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) - she examines how policymakers communicate and how the public comprehends trade policy. As "the American century" draws to a close, the message is clear: the American public's aspirations - indeed, the traditional pursuit of the American Dream - should be reflected in international trade policy. Aaronson suggests ways to create greater public understanding for the GATT/WTO and international trade as America enters the twenty-first century. If national trade policy is to play in Peoria, Americans must first understand it.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Tables and Figures
Forewords
Acknowledgments
Introduction	p. 1
The Roots of Multilateral Trade Policy	p. 13
Linking Jobs to Trade Policy, 1939-1942	p. 23
Gaining Congressional Approval for Multilateral Trade Liberalization, 1943-1945	p. 34
The Planners and the Public, 1943-1946	p. 50
Public Response to the ITO, 1946-1947	p. 61
The ITO, the GATT, and U.S. Trade Policy, 1947-1948	p. 79
Congressional Challenges and Public Apathy toward Trade, 1948-1949	p. 98
Dead on Arrival: The Fate of the ITO, 1948-1951	p. 114
The Rise and Erosion of the Freer Trade Consensus and the Debate over NAFTA, 1949-1994	p. 133
Present at the Creation of the WTO, 1986-1994	p. 145
Conclusion: Democracy and Economic Interdependence	p. 168
Notes	p. 177
Bibliography	p. 236
Index	p. 253
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.