Jagdish Bhagwati, an internationally renowned economist known for
his insightful analyses and elegant writing, here shines a critical
light on Preferential Trade Agreements, revealing how the rapid
spread of PTAs endangers the world trading system. Preferential
Trade Agreements, many taking the form of Free Trade Agreements,
now number over 300 and are rapidly increasing. Bhagwati reveals
how these agreements have recreated the unhappy situation of the
protectionist 1930s, when world trade was undermined by
discriminatory practices (today, ironically, as a result of a
misdirected pursuit of free trade). The world trading system is
definitely at risk again, the author argues, and the danger is
palpable. Indeed, PTAs have created a chaotic system of preferences
that has destroyed the principle of non-discrimination in trade.
The trading system today is characterized by a blizzard of
discriminatory barriers, each designed to favor some specific
trading partner, so that we have what Bhagwati has called the
"spaghetti bowl" problem. And while the big firms in the big
countries can cope with the chaos, though at a cost, the author
shows that small countries and small exporters are seriously
handicapped. He also examines how FTAs are typically tied to
extraneous issues such as openness to capital flows and
inappropriate labor standards, so that the weaker nations,
negotiating one-on-one with stronger nations, are forced to accept
harmful demands unrelated to trade. Finally, the book warns that
getting to multilateral free trade from the morass of PTAs will be
almost an impossible task-like building a mansion from
different-sized bricks. Preferential trade agreements, Bhagwati
concludes, are not building blocks but stumbling blocks on the road
of free trade. In Termites in the Trading System, he illuminates
this growing threat to the world trading system. Acclaim for In
Defense of Globalization: "If Mr. Bhagwati doesn't get a much
deserved Nobel Prize for economics, he should get one for
literature. His writing sparkles with anecdotes and delightful
verbal pictures." -New York Sun "One of the world's leading
international trade theorists.... Accessible and clearly argued.
There is, one might say, a wealth of material on every page." -The
Wall Street Journal "An outstandingly effective book.... Until
further notice In Defense of Globalization becomes the standard
general-interest reference, the intelligent layman's handbook, on
global economic integration." -The Economist
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