The trend toward free trade areas: economic consequences and policy implications for the United States

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Authors
All, William H., IV
Subjects
U.S. economic policy
U.S. trade policy general agreement on tariffs and trade
Free trade areas
Free trade agreements
Economic blocs
Economic regionalism
Customs unions
Advisors
Looney, Robert E.
Stockton, Paul N.
Date of Issue
1992-12
Date
December 1992
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
Because America's economy relies to a significant degree on export markets and external sources of raw materials, the health of the international trading system is critical to the national security of the United States. This thesis demonstrates that the organization on which America has relied for the management of the international trading system since the 1950s, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), is failing to effectively fulfill its role of international trade regulation. It is argued that because of that failure, an alternative global trading structure based on a triad of large regional free trade areas (FTAs) is developing. It is proven, using the generally accepted tenets of customs union theory, that the impact on the Unite States of such a triad could be generally positive in the absence of a functioning GATT. Based on this economic analysis broad American trade policy guidelines are proposed to maximize American advantage in the evolving system.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Department of National Security Affairs
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
139 p.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
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