U.S. Trade Strategy: Free Versus Fair

U.S. trade expansion has contributed to dramatic economic growth, but it has also led to new policy challenges: a ballooning trade deficit, anxiety about foreign competition, and a potential "race to the bottom" for labor and environmental regulation. This incisive new book examines these and other challenges facing U.S. trade policy. An introduction, presented in the form of an options memorandum to the U.S. president, provides context and critical assessment of various policy options. Four white papers look in greater detail at the specific challenges facing U.S. trade negotiators. They provide a framework for exploring the menu of policy options for the Bush administration.By making the sometimes arcane issues of trade accessible without sacrificing sophistication or detail, this volume is an invaluable teaching aid, guiding students and readers through the murky waters of American foreign economic policy. The U.S. trade agenda today faces formidable challenges as well as substantial opportunities. This book offers insight into both. "Without taking sides, Drezner masterfully lays out the big trade policy choices facing a president." —Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics "With considerable expertise and insight, Drezner offers an enlightening overview of the decisions awaiting the United States in the making of trade policy. Above all, he explains why the United States cannot afford to turn away from trade if Americans hope to achieve a growing and lasting prosperity for all." —James Bacchus, Chairman, Global Trade Practice Group, Greenberg Traurig LLP