The New Protectionism

With the demise of communism, free trade ideology has become triumphant, and proponents now seek basic changes in the world's economy. But this very expansion has brought with it many of the fundamental problems with free trade. This text challenges the orthodox view that free trade benefits everyone and that treaties such as NAFTA and GATT create a new global prosperity. The authors argue that free trade serves only a narrow range of established interests and that to protect international equity and the global environment, trade must be put onto a different footing - a "new protectionism" - to reduce external trade while protecting and promoting local interests.