Overview
Growing international trade has helped lift living standards around the world, and yet free trade is always under attack. Critics complain that trade forces painful economic adjustments, such as plant closings and layoffs of workers, and charge that the World Trade Organization serves the interests of corporations, undercuts domestic environmental regulations, and erodes America's sovereignty. Why has global trade become so controversial? Does free trade deserve its bad reputation?
In Free Trade under Fire, Douglas Irwin sweeps aside the misconceptions that litter the debate over trade and gives the reader a clear understanding of the issues involved. This third edition has been thoroughly updated to include the latest developments in world trade—including the practice of off-shoring services, the impact of trade on wages, and the implications of trade with China-based on the latest research.
Synopsis
Growing international trade has helped lift living standards around the world, and yet free trade is always under attack. Critics complain that trade forces painful economic adjustments, such as plant closings and layoffs of workers, and charge that the World Trade Organization serves the interests of corporations, undercuts domestic environmental regulations, and erodes America's sovereignty. Why has global trade become so controversial? Does free trade deserve its bad reputation? In Free Trade under Fire, Douglas Irwin sweeps aside the misconceptions that litter the debate over trade and gives the reader a clear understanding of the issues involved. This third edition has been thoroughly updated to include the latest developments in world trade--including the practice of off-shoring services, the impact of trade on wages, and the implications of trade with China-based on the latest research.
Richard Cooper - Foreign Affairs
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "Vigorous and persuasive. . . . [Irwin] offers an especially informative chapter on antidumping duties, which have historically been supported in the name of ensuring 'fair trade.'
Editorials
Wall Street Journal
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "[Irwin] sets out most of the anti-trade claims one by one . . . and then marshals the evidence to show why it just ain't so. . . . Compelling [and] cogent.
Economist
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "A wealth of reporting, both of trade-theory debates and of recent political battles in America over trade, is elegantly squeezed into the book. . . . If [Free Trade Under Fire does] not change trade sceptics' minds, it is hard to think what else would.
Barron's
Praise for Princeton's previous editions : [Irwin] successfully parries nearly all arguments leveled against free trade by its critics, and does so in an engaging style, which in itself makes for lively reading.— Gene Epstein
Foreign Affairs
Praise for Princeton's previous editions : Vigorous and persuasive. . . . [Irwin] offers an especially informative chapter on antidumping duties, which have historically been supported in the name of ensuring 'fair trade.'— Richard Cooper
Barron's
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "[Irwin] successfully parries nearly all arguments leveled against free trade by its critics, and does so in an engaging style, which in itself makes for lively reading.
Foreign Affairs
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "Vigorous and persuasive. . . . [Irwin] offers an especially informative chapter on antidumping duties, which have historically been supported in the name of ensuring 'fair trade.'
Economist
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "A wealth of reporting, both of trade-theory debates and of recent political battles in America over trade, is elegantly squeezed into the book. . . . If [Free Trade Under Fire does] not change trade sceptics' minds, it is hard to think what else would.Economist
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "A wealth of reporting, both of trade-theory debates and of recent political battles in America over trade, is elegantly squeezed into the book. . . . If [Free Trade Under Fire does] not change trade sceptics' minds, it is hard to think what else would.Barron's
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "[Irwin] successfully parries nearly all arguments leveled against free trade by its critics, and does so in an engaging style, which in itself makes for lively reading.— Gene Epstein
Wall Street Journal
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "[Irwin] sets out most of the anti-trade claims one by one . . . and then marshals the evidence to show why it just ain't so. . . . Compelling [and] cogent.Foreign Affairs
Praise for Princeton's previous editions: "Vigorous and persuasive. . . . [Irwin] offers an especially informative chapter on antidumping duties, which have historically been supported in the name of ensuring 'fair trade.'— Richard Cooper