U.S. International Trade Policy: An Introduction

To understand trade policy, one needs to understand the basics of international economics. This book provides nonspecialists with accessible explanations of international trade, enabling readers to appreciate the importance of current events in international trade policy.

• Explains confusing concepts or elements of international economics that are essential to understanding how U.S. trade policy works, such as comparative advantage; trade position; quotas, tariffs, and other nontariff barriers to trade; and dumping (predatory pricing)

• Reviews and summarizes the classical explanations of the patterns of trade among nations, explains how these patterns are determined by comparative advantage and disadvantage, and documents how these models are still relevant in the 21st century

• Identifies how the United States'set of subcabinet offices that produce trade policy instead of having a department or ministry of international trade—as every other country does—exacerbates the challenge of understanding U.S. trade policy

• Represents an ideal resource for journalists tasked with writing comprehensible articles on trade policy and for general readers seeking to understand what they are reading about U.S. trade policy