Covers trends from 1957 to 1995.

The recent proliferation of free trade areas and customs unions in the world trading system has led to a revival of interest in the economic analysis of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). The principal theoretical question of the 1950s and 1960s (Viner) was whether PTAs encourage or discourage the worldwide nondiscriminatory freeing of trade. The essays in this volume present the central contributions to the analytical approaches developed to examine these questions. -- Provided by publisher.

Global commerce is rapidly organizing around regional trading blocs in North America, Western Europe, Pacific Asia, and elsewhere--with potentially dangerous consequences for the world trading system. Professor Kerry Chase examines how domestic politics has driven the emergence of these trading blocs, arguing that businesses today are more favorably inclined to global trade liberalization than in the past because recent regional trading arrangements have created opportunities to restructure manufacturing more efficiently. Trading Blocs is the first book to systematically demonstrate the theoretical significance of economies of scale in domestic pressure for trading blocs, and thereby build on a growing research agenda in areas of political economy and domestic politics. "Chase has written a superb book that provides us with an innovative and compelling explanation for the development of trading blocs." --Vinod Aggarwal, Director, Berkeley APEC Study Center, University of California, Berkeley Kerry A. Chase is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tufts University.

Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist who uniquely combines a reputation as the leading scholar of international trade with a substantial presence in public policy on the important issues of the day, shines here a critical light on Preferential Trade Agreements, revealing how the rapid spread of PTAs endangers the world trading system. Numbering by now well over 300, and rapidly increasing, these preferential trade agreements, many taking the form of Free Trade Agreements, have re-created the unhappy situation of the 1930s, when world trade was undermined by discriminatory practices. Whereas this was the result of protectionism in those days, ironically it is a result of misdirected pursuit of free trade via PTAs today. The world trading system is at risk again, the author argues, and the danger is palpable. Writing with his customary wit, panache and elegance, Bhagwati documents the growth of these PTAs, the reasons for their proliferation, and their deplorable consequences which include the near-destruction of the non-discrimination which was at the heart of the postwar trade architecture and its replacement by what he has called the spaghetti bowl of a maze of preferences. Bhagwati also documents how PTAs have undermined the prospects for multilateral freeing of trade, serving as stumbling blocks, instead of building blocks, for the objective of reaching multilateral free trade. In short, Bhagwati cogently demonstrates why PTAs are Termites in the Trading System.

The Asia–Pacific Rim is still potentially one of the most dynamic areas of the global economy, and the European Union (EU) is the world’s most prosperous market. The development of relations between the EU and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is vitally important for the future economic evolution of both regions. This book traces the relationship between the EU and ASEAN, considering the current and future position of trade relations.

An examination of recent trends and shifts in trade policies, this study looks at the seemingly contradictory movements toward regionalism and integration.

This book points out that although the total trade volume of the blocs that involve less-developed countries (LDCs) has increased, this is due at least as much to a particular bloc-member's economic growth as it is a result of the trading bloc.

This paper uses the three-country duopoly model to examine the effects of lowered trade barriers when a new entrant joins a trading bloc. There are two firms—a small-country firm and a large-country firm within the bloc—and three markets—two within and one (new entrant’s) outside the bloc. The analysis generally shows greater gains for the small-country than for the large-country firm. The small-country firm will export more to the external country than the large-country firm. But if tariffs decline, the export share of the large-country firm will increase relative to the small-country firm’s, though profits will improve more for the latter.

This title was first published in 2000. This text addresses concerns about regional trade agreements. From a variety of political and economic angles, it explains the emergence of trade blocs, their internal policies and politics, and their effects on global trade. It does not provide sequential descriptions and analyses of each of the world's major trading blocs. The focus here is on a number of causal factors that help explain the emergence of trading blocs and the development of their relations to and effects on the multilateral trading system. In each chapter, attempts have been made to draw theoretical and case-based generalizations that may apply to other trade blocs than the used in the empirical analyses.

Cross-border investments and cooperative business ventures are driving the global economy on an unprecedented scale. Business professionals and policy makers must be aware of the potential of trading blocs as a competitive weapon given the rising importance of multinational trade. The coming years promise to be the era of the Trade Pact Wars as Canada's recently announced trade talks with Chile, Germany's push for closer trans-Atlantic ties with the United States, and ASEAN efforts to promote intraregional trade all test the fledgling World Trade Organization in its role as the watchdog of global trade. Delener examines the rationale for international trading blocs and free trade with a focus on the implications for strategic planning of firms and national industry sectors. He looks at the development and conditions of the major existing regional trading blocs and discusses issues that will impact those who do business within them. NAFTA, the European Union, South American trading blocs, and efforts in Asia and Africa are all examined in detail. Strategic planning, anti-dumping issues, and global standards are also considered. The book provides professionals, researchers, and students with a firm grasp of the issues of central importance to strategic planning in global corporations and multinational trading blocs. Those who fail to grasp the significance of multinational trading blocs will face tough times while those who plan for it will see their nations and businesses thrive and prosper.