The politics of trade

the long version

Bitter controversies over GATT and NAFTA clearly illustrate the ongoing evolution of U.S. economic policies whose roots Cynthia A. Hody traces to the early 1900s. By examining institutional change in domestic politics and its impact on policy formation around the turn of the century, she places contemporary policy-making procedures into their historical and analytical context, suggesting that policy makers tend to overlook contemporary societal and economic changes in favor of free trade at the expense of a coherent industrial strategy. Hody points out that lawmakers responded to America's growth into an industrial giant by passing protectionist adjustments to U.S. tariff policies, but it took decades for them to realize those reactions were ineffective. New policies demand new politics, she writes, and policy makers must work to avoid the lag between changes in conditions and adjustments in policies.