Free trade lies at the heart of the new era of globalization. This is a review of the history of 20th-century trade agreements, tracing what happened to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) before the USA pushed the world into the Uruguay Round. This renegotiation of the rules of international trade, enshrined in the World Trade Organisation agreements, is now taking free trade much further than ever before. The author examines the benefits and hidden costs of the WTO Agreements, their implications for weaker economies and their likely consequences in terms of environmental protection, labour standards and political sovereignty. Alternatives do exist, he argues, to an over-reliance on free trade. These include managed trade, fair trade and self-reliant trade. He also sets out a series of innovative proposals for reforming the WTO, IMF and World Bank.

In this book Australian economist, Graham Dunkley, explains and critiques the crucial concept of free trade. A policy of free trade is central to today's world-dominating globalization project. The more euphoric globalists uncritically assume that it has universal and unequivocal benefits for all people and countries. And the perpetual negotiations of the World Trade Organization are wholly based on this presumption. Graham Dunkley shows, however, that leading economists have always been more sceptical about free trade doctrine than the dogmatic globalizers realize. There are more holes in free trade theory than its advocates grasp. And the benefits of free trade in practice are more limited and contingent than they acknowledge. He also argues that the World Bank's long-time push for export-led development is misguided. A more democratic world trading order is necessary and possible. And more interventionist, self-reliant trade policies are feasible, especially if a more holistic view of economic development goals is adopted.

In 1784, when Americans first voyaged to China, they confronted Chinese authorities who were unaware that the United States even existed. Nevertheless, a long, complicated, and fruitful trade relationship was born after American traders, missionaries, diplomats, and others sailed to China with lofty ambitions: to acquire fabulous wealth, convert China to Christianity, and even command a Chinese army. In America's First Adventure in China, John Haddad provides a colorful history of the evolving cultural exchange and interactions between these countries. He recounts how American expatriates adopted a pragmatic attitude-as well as an entrepreneurial spirit and improvisational approach-to their dealings with the Chinese. Haddad shows how opium played a potent role in the dreams of Americans who either smuggled it or opposed its importation, and he considers the missionary movement that compelled individuals to accept a hard life in an alien culture. As a result of their efforts, Americans achieved a favorable outcome—they established a unique presence in China—and cultivated a relationship whose complexities continue to grow.

This book focuses on one of the most strategic developments in international trade-the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement-due for completion in 2005. This US initiative aims to replicate the NAFTA Agreement across all 34 countries of South and North America (except Cuba). This volume explains the origins and ongoing process of the negotiations and explains why the US wants to expand its NAFTA model. It makes clear that investment protection, in addition to trade, is at the heart of the new agreement. And it examines in-depth the possible consequences for Mercosur, Brazil, and the region's many small economies.

Through an analysis of Christian communities in the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica, this book analyzes how religious groups talk about the politics surrounding economic life. Amy Reynolds examines how these Christian organizations speak about trade and the economy as moral and value-laden spaces, deserving ethical reflection and requiring political action. She reveals the ways in which religious communities have asked people to engage in new approaches to thinking about the market and how they have worked to create alternative networks and policies governing economic and social life.

This encyclopedia spans the relationships among business, ethics and society, with an emphasis on business ethics and the role of business in society.

In this much-needed book, Graham Dunkley challenges the oft-repeated notion that free trade and global integration are the best means of development for all nations at all times – an idea that has proved even more misguided in the wake of the global financial crisis. By contrast, Dunkley reveals – through a wide range of statistical analysis and case studies – that at best the evidence is mixed. Looking systematically at issues such as trade-led growth, supply chains and financialization, One World Mania reveals the many problems that over-globalization has caused, often at great human cost. An indispensible guide for anyone wishing to understand the shortcomings of current global economic policies.