Water and Free Trade

Water and Free Trade
Author: Wendy Holm
Publisher: James Lorimer & Company
Total Pages: 172
Release: 1988-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781550281668

First published in 1988, Water and Free Trade offers a penetrating analysis of the forces that threaten Canada's most precious resource. Edited by a leading resource economist, this thoughtful book raises the issue from the mists of hype and propaganda that have long surrounded the issue of water exports. Remarkably comprehensive in its approach, it explores what the North American Free Trade Agreement actually says about water, and at the same time places the subject in a broad social and political context. Water and Free Trade is a clear examination of an issue sure to become even more contentious as time passes.

Termites in the Trading System

Termites in the Trading System
Author: Jagdish Bhagwati
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2008-07-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199715904

Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist who uniquely combines a reputation as the leading scholar of international trade with a substantial presence in public policy on the important issues of the day, shines here a critical light on Preferential Trade Agreements, revealing how the rapid spread of PTAs endangers the world trading system. Numbering by now well over 300, and rapidly increasing, these preferential trade agreements, many taking the form of Free Trade Agreements, have re-created the unhappy situation of the 1930s, when world trade was undermined by discriminatory practices. Whereas this was the result of protectionism in those days, ironically it is a result of misdirected pursuit of free trade via PTAs today. The world trading system is at risk again, the author argues, and the danger is palpable. Writing with his customary wit, panache and elegance, Bhagwati documents the growth of these PTAs, the reasons for their proliferation, and their deplorable consequences which include the near-destruction of the non-discrimination which was at the heart of the postwar trade architecture and its replacement by what he has called the spaghetti bowl of a maze of preferences. Bhagwati also documents how PTAs have undermined the prospects for multilateral freeing of trade, serving as stumbling blocks, instead of building blocks, for the objective of reaching multilateral free trade. In short, Bhagwati cogently demonstrates why PTAs are Termites in the Trading System.

From the Slave Trade to 'Free' Trade

From the Slave Trade to 'Free' Trade
Author: Patrick Burnett
Publisher: Fahamu/Pambazuka
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2007-06-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0954563719

This compilation of articlescommemorates the 200thanniversary of the abolition of the slave trade and the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence. Drawing on lessons from the slave trade, studies of the international finance institutions, and the struggles of many African people to make a living, these essays provide insights into how free trade policies have a profoundly negative impact on democracy and justice in Africa. Whether it is the effects of trade policies on informal street traderswho in Africa are often womenthe decimation of a country's health system as a result of the World Bank's obsession with low inflation, or the sacrificing of community rights in the interests of multinational corporations, it is clear that "free" trade policies impose a profit-first and people-last regime in Africa. Contributors include Charles Abugre, Tope Akinwande, Soren Ambrose, Nnimmo Bassey, Patrick Bond, Jennifer Chiriga, Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, M. P. Giyose, Manu Herbstein, Mouhamadou Tidiane Kasse, Salma Maoulidi, Stephen Marks, Mariam Mayet, Henning Melber, Winnie Mitullah, Patrick Ochieng, Oduor Ongwen, Robtel Neajai Pailey, Liepollo Lebohang Pheko, and Jagjit Plahe. "

Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese, and Free Trade in the East Indies

Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese, and Free Trade in the East Indies
Author: Peter Borschberg
Publisher: NUS Press
Total Pages: 510
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9971694670

This book considers the background to the treatises, their content and significance, and what Grotius actually knew about Southeast Asian polities or Portuguese institutions of trade and diplomacy when he wrote them. --

Open

Open
Author: Kimberly Clausing
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2019-03-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0674919335

A Financial Times Best Economics Book of the Year A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year A Fareed Zakaria GPS Book of the Week “A highly intelligent, fact-based defense of the virtues of an open, competitive economy and society.” —Fareed Zakaria “A vitally important corrective to the current populist moment...Open points the way to a kinder, gentler version of globalization that ensures that the gains are shared by all.” —Justin Wolfers “Clausing’s important book lays out the economics of globalization and, more important, shows how globalization can be made to work for the vast majority of Americans. I hope the next President of the United States takes its lessons on board.” —Lawrence H. Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury “Makes a strong case in favor of foreign trade in goods and services, the cross-border movement of capital, and immigration. This valuable book amounts to a primer on globalization.” —Richard N. Cooper, Foreign Affairs Critics on the Left have long attacked open markets and free trade agreements for exploiting the poor and undermining labor, while those on the Right complain that they unjustly penalize workers back home. Kimberly Clausing takes on old and new skeptics in her compelling case that open economies are actually a force for good. Turning to the data to separate substance from spin, she shows how international trade makes countries richer, raises living standards, benefits consumers, and brings nations together. At a time when borders are closing and the safety of global supply chains is being thrown into question, she outlines a clear agenda to manage globalization more effectively, presenting strategies to equip workers for a modern economy and establish a better partnership between labor and the business community.