Recent elections have focused on negatives: how to cut programs and how to raise taxes. This book proposes a positive solutions oriented approach to solve the root causes of the country's economic problems: the milking of America by foreign trade agreements that has brought the country and many of the people to the brink of bankruptcy. It shows the primary cause of our decline is a multi-decade trade imbalance fed by an unfair trade policy of low import duties, and the relatively high level of American workers' wages compared to foreign wages. The granting of "Most Favored Nation" status to China in the early 1990's, together with China's extraordinary low average wages and China's robber baron attempts to capture major industries such as pharmaceuticals, have led to a massive trade imbalance. In this book we propose a solution to the foreign trade problem that will level the playing field for America and foreign countries. In addition we propose specific NEW solutions for the problem areas listed in the title. Dr. Blaha is a historian and economist, as well as a physicist, with a practical approach to the many major problems facing America including a better alternative than Obamacare, a powerful solution for environmental pollution, and a revived space program based on building a new space travel infrastructure. An action oriented approach

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force on January 1, 1994. The overall economic impact of NAFTA is difficult to measure since trade and investment trends are influenced by numerous other economic variables, such as economic growth, inflation, and currency fluctuations. The agreement may have accelerated the trade liberalization that was already taking place, but many of these changes may have taken place with or without an agreement. Nevertheless, NAFTA is significant because it was the most comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) negotiated at the time and contained several groundbreaking provisions. This book provides an overview of North American trade liberalization before NAFTA, an overview of NAFTA provisions, the economic effects of NAFTA, and policy considerations. This book also examines the integration of North America's agricultural and food markets as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Fiscal policy is an important factor influencing the growth performance of countries. However, compared to the large empirical literature on the effects of monetary policy on economic activity, fiscal policy has received less attention. In this book, the authors present current research in the study of fiscal policy and the macroeconomy as well as the challenges of fiscal policy in the current global environment. The book brings a global perspective to the practice of fiscal policy by presenting case studies from the United States, the European Union, and the Caribbean. Topics discussed in the book include international dimensions of fiscal policy, public debt and the economy, austerity versus stimulus and economic growth, the correction of economic imbalances in Europe, the long term impact of fiscal devaluation, the cyclicality of fiscal policy, the appropriate debt ceilings for small states, lessons from the banking union framework in the Euro Area, fiscal policy and competitiveness, policy lessons from debt restructuring in Jamaica, estimating the structural fiscal balance in small islands and fiscal policy rules and fiscal performance.

What have WTO accessions contributed to the rules-based multilateral trading system? What demands have been made by original WTO members on acceding governments? How have the acceding governments fared? This volume of essays offers critical readings on how WTO accession negotiations have expanded the reach of the multilateral trading system not only geographically but also conceptually, clarifying disciplines and pointing the way to their further strengthening in future negotiations. Members who have acceded since the WTO was established now account for twenty per cent of total WTO membership. In the age of globalization there is an increased need for a universal system of trade rules. Accession negotiations have been used by governments as an instrument for domestic reforms, and one lesson from the accession process is that there are contexts which lead multilateral trade negotiations to successful outcomes even in the complex and multi-polar twenty-first century economic environment.

This book brings together and interprets the information relating to Canada's contacts with Asiatic countries since the beginning of the Second World War. Lucidly written and freshly presented, it will be of great interest to everyone concerned with international affairs. As Canada's policies in the Far East and Southeast Asia are the result of Canadian policies in general, Dr. Angus discusses the general policies first and then their particular application. He deals with the nature of Canadian nationalism; the war years and post-war adjustment; Canadian Far Eastern policy and the United Nations; the peace settlement with Japan and security; trade policy and access to resources; economic assistance and the forms it takes; cultural intercourse, human rights, and immigration; and Canadian opinion about the Far East. Dr. Angus' book is published by the University of Toronto Press for the Canadian Institute of International Affairs.

Power inequalities and mistrust have characterized many interstate relationships. Yet most international relations theories do not take into account power and mistrust when explaining cooperation. While some scholars argue that power relations inhibit cooperation between states, other scholars expect interstate cooperation regardless of the power relations and level of trust. Strategic Cooperation: Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy argues that although states benefit from cooperation, they are also wary of the power relations between states, making cooperation difficult. Successful and cooperative bilateral relationships are formed between strong and weak states that are power asymmetric and have mistrust of one another, but they are built in such as way as to overcome the problem of power asymmetry and mistrust. This book answers how and why states that are in power asymmetry and have mistrust of one another are able to build a cooperative bilateral relationship. It argues that states forge a relationship due to strategic needs such as economic or security needs. Slobodchikoff has developed a database composed of the whole population of bilateral treaties between Russia and each of the former Soviet republics, and examines all of these bilateral relationships. He finds that Russia indeed forged relationships with the former republics based on its strategic interests. However, despite Russia's strategic interests, it had to build a bilateral relationship that would address the issues of mistrust and power asymmetry between the states. To achieve this, Russia and the former Soviet republics created treaty networks, which served to legitimize as well as legalize the independent status of each of the former republics while also increasing the cost to Russia of violating any of the treaties. This book argues that strong treaty networks account for a more cooperative relationship between states, allowing both states to cooperate by alleviating the problems of mistrust and power asymmetry.

Trusting Trade and the Private Sector for Food Security in Southeast Asia challenges policy makers who oversee the rice sector in Southeast Asia and reexamines deep-rooted precepts about their responsibilities. The authors argue that fixating on national self-sufficiency has been costly and counterproductive, and cooperation can both improve rice production at home and expand regional trade. Trusting Trade specifically examines private sector participation in the rice and (yellow) maize markets in five countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The study identifies both the private sector s potential role in providing greater regional food security and feasible ways to strengthen public and private sector cooperation in managing regional food supply chains. Trusting Trade also examines actionable ways to deepen and strengthen regional markets that support trade in food staples. The study s recommendations are meant to be implemented primarily through new forms of partnerships between the public and private sectors. Trusting Trade will be of interest to policy makers in the ASEAN member states and its development partners as well as others interested in food security, supply chains, and trade in Southeast Asia."

Much has been written about the trilateral relationship between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and the free trade agreements that this relationship has spawned. In Making North America, James Thompson uses the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement of 1988 and the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 to demonstrate that there has been an often-unrecognized impulse behind the process of North American integration - national security. Featuring interviews with key decision-makers from all three countries, including Brian Mulroney, George H.W. Bush, and Carlos Salinas, Making North America is a rigorous analysis of the role national security has played in North American integration. Furthermore, Thompson's evidence suggests that the processes at work in North America are part of a global phenomenon where regions are progressively coalescing into larger-scale political entities.

The American position on Russia during the First World War was defined by the same idealism that guided our relations with other countries. Woodrow Wilson and American leaders had hailed the Revolution of March 1917 as an expression of the true spirit of Russia, a harbinger of democracy. The Bolshevik revolt and the civil war that followed were, in their eyes, only temporary disturbances. Still, the growth of the new democracy would only prosper if the Russians could restore order to their beleaguered land. In this book Linda Killen examines a hitherto neglected instrument of American policy in Russia-the Russian Bureau of the War Trade Board. With support from the administration, the bureau was established by Congress in October 1918 as a public corporation with a fund of $5 million to facilitate trade between Russia and America, for government and business leaders thought that the Russians could be helped to resolve their problems with the income from trade. The bureau was also to assist in two areas essential to trade, stabilizing the currency and restoring the transportation system. With the signing of the peace treaty, however, the bureau as a wartime agency was dissolved in June 1919 and its work assigned to the State Department. As one of the first American attempts at foreign aid, the bureau's program was necessarily tentative, but Linda Killen shows that, as a specific case, the bureau offers an instructive example. It reveals a widespread ignorance of Russian affairs both in government and in business circles. More importantly, it demonstrates the fatal weakness of an idealistic policy that was blind to political realities. Perhaps, the bureau's most tangible "accomplishment" came when its $5 million were finally transferred to the Trans-Siberian Railroad to purchase new equipment. Yet, ironically, it was the hated Bolsheviks who benefitted from this aid when they seized Siberia and used the new equipment to restore the rail line to efficient operation. This detailed study of the Russian Bureau sheds new light on a turbulent and tragic area of American diplomacy. Unfortunately, the democratic Russia that Wilson sought to help may never have existed except in his mind and never came to be.

This monograph addresses Asia's rise in global free trade agreement (FTA) activity. This has sparked concerns about the erosion of the World Trade Organization (WTO) trading system and the Asian "noodle bowl" (multiple and possibly conflicting FTAs). The study identifies for policymakers how best to minimize the costs of FTAs while maximizing their benefits. It reexamines key trends and challenges in Asian FTAs and offers new information from analysis of FTAs, economic models, and firm surveys. This analysis supports strengthening business support for FTAs; rationalizing rules of origin and upgrading their administration; expanded coverage of agricultural and services trade; forging comprehensive "WTO-plus" agreements; and encouraging a region-wide FTA. The analysis suggests a bottom-up approach to global trade liberalization as a complement to WTO processes.

Regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have taken on greater significance amidst an evolving international trading environment. Member countries in FTAs agree to eliminate trade barriers on all or most goods and services traded among them. Uncertainties associated with global negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Development Agenda, along with other factors, have contributed to an upsurge in bilateral and regional trade agreements. This book examines the possible impacts on U.S. agricultural trade of two recently implemented FTAs in which the United States is not a partner; the FTAs between the ASEAN countries and China and between the ASEAN countries and Australia/New Zealand. Also discussed is the potential effects on U.S. agricultural exporters of pending bilateral TAs between the United States and Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

This study examines U.S.-Mexico sugar trade with special attention given to the impact of changes in trade and market environments caused by implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the introduction of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). These two factors contributed to shaping sugar markets in the United States and Mexico as well as sugar trade between the two countries. The study includes two sections: (1) a description of the sugar markets from an historic point of view and (2) an empirical study forecasting the market and trade outlook.In section one, characteristics of the sugar industry and transition of the sugar markets brought by the two factors (NAFTA and HFCS) are presented. Adoption of HFCS shaped the U.S. sweetener market in the 1980s and a similar phenomenon appears to be beginning in Mexico. This is explained by not only income growth but also the provisions of NAFTA that facilitate U.S. HFCS to enter the Mexican market and restrict Mexican sugar to the U.S. market. Although Mexico is promised favorable access to the U.S. market under NAFTA, it has not been successful in exporting sugar; rather, the focus has been to suppress HFCS adoption in the domestic market.Next, an empirical study comprised of three analyses is presented. Regression results from the market analysis showed that the estimated price elasticities for both sugar demand and supply are significant and inelastic. These estimates are built into the second model that examines bilateral trade. Results from simulations of the trade analysis indicate Mexico's HFCS adoption rate will determine the magnitude of Mexico's sugar export, which consequently poses a significant influence on U.S. markets. Also the way the U.S. government allocates quotas among exporters will have a significant impact, particularly on the costs of the U.S. sugar program. Game theory analysis is then used to assess what strategies the involved participants will prefer. The results suggest that there will be a conflict of interests and that the U.S. HFCS industry may play an influential role in forming a sugar policy.

The rise of the new major powers in the global system has attracted considerable attention. This has focused on the emergence of Brazil, Indian Russia and, above all China, and the consequences for both the global balance of power and the nature of international relations. In addition to these national powers we are witnessing a proliferation and intensification of regionalism. The rise of regional blocs such as the EU, MERCOSUR and ASEAN is bringing a new component to the global system. As these regional groupings seek to establish relations with major powers and with each other, they not only become global actors in their own right, but also create a new level of interaction, that has been termed 'interregionalism'. This paper explores the nature, extent and implications of the emergence of this new form of international relations.

Central America has put the promotion of international trade at the center of its development agenda. Over the past years the region has witnessed the successful conclusion of negotiations for a significant number of free trade agreement, most notably the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the US and the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union signed in May 2010. The priority given to international trade by Central America is unsurprising. Trade is generally perceived as being both beneficial for growth and a means for advancement for developing countries. There are now plenty of positive experiences with developing countries that have anchored their development strategies around the promotion of trade. The region should be congratulated without reservations for the effort made on this front. However, the real work starts now, with the recognition that trade agreements create opportunities but do not guarantee results. Three main questions are addressed in the background papers prepared for this study. How does trade liberalization enhance the volume of trade? What is the impact of higher trade flows on growth? Is the growth associated with trade equitable and sustainable? The main conclusions of the study therefore aim to inform the ongoing policy discussion on how Central America can get the most out of its free trade agreements: a key message that emerges is that this will depend on the ability of countries to create an enabling policy and institutional environment; one that will stimulate trade flows as well as the growth impact of these flows, while ensuring that growth is inclusive and sustainable.

Asia has entered the 21st century as an economic superpower and is inevitably also becoming a political superpower. This evolution is the subject of this continuing series which includes in its scope the entire spectrum of contemporary politics and economics of Asia. The coverage is intended to deal with Asia, its political dynamics, economic policies, institutions and its future. It discusses topics that include: U.S.-South Korea relations; trade promotion authority and the Korea Free Trade Agreement; China's military modernisation efforts; U.S.-Vietnam economic and trade relations; and, U.S.-China trade relations and China's currency policy.