A study of an important recent device used to restrict international trade.

The book reviews protectionist practices in the United States, the European Community and Japan. It assesses their causes and effects. In coverage, depth of analysis and vantage point this is a unique study of the new protectionist trends that began in the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Multilateralism in trade relations is now seriously threatened by the deviant behaviour of the industrial nations, the would-be pillars of the world trading system set up after World War II. The new protectionism exerts strong pressures on the weaker components of the trading system: the developing nations. Born as an intra developed countries' affair, the new protectionism has in fact shifted its focus on developing countries, threatening the newly found outward orientation of many and making more difficult for all to retain the benefits of export trade.

This monograph questions the benefits of free trade, arguing that, far from promoting prosperity for all those involved, free trade only serves a narrow range of interests, primarily for the large corporations who conduct it. The authors claim that the consequences of present arrangements and those promised under the new GATT agreement will increase the difference between the world's rich and poor and accelerate the destruction of the global environment. The authors suggest instead that trading arrangements should emphasize regional self-sufficiency and the overall amount of trade should be reduced.

"Through a combination of text, quotations, cartoons, tables, charts, and graphs, Bhagwati ... looks at the forces for and against protection."--Jacket.