The Evolution Of American Trade Policy Orientation

Trade policy is one of the everlasting factors in American foreign policy. American trade protection policy and free trade policy are displayed in turn and cycle with the development of American economy and the role that America plays in the world economy. Economic Crisis in 1930s and the postwar rejuvenation made free trade policy the leading factor and also deeply influenced the world economy and politics. The profoundness of fair trade policy's influence on international community, the variety of fair trade policy itself and the complication of value evaluation all outweigh the traditional trade policy. And fair trade policy makes the regular economic characteristics in America and the world more obvious.The evolution of American trade policy is a dialectical process, a history of the unity of opposites and a history of the balance and imbalance, the negation of negation. The complication and diversification of it embody the eternal state interest. Free trade policy is implied in the implementation of trade protection policy whereas the trade protection policy is encouraged in the pursuance of free trade policy. Fair trade policy, strategic trade policy and balanced trade policy are emerged with the conflict between free trade policy and trade protection policy and the economic and political changes at home and abroad.The system of decentralization in America influences the formulation and implementation of trade policy basically and permanently. The controversies over trade policy are embodied by the contention between administrative and legislative departments. Two parties system has largely restricted the development of American trade policy. The result of the game among interest groups affects the decision that Congress and Government make on the trade policy, which will strengthen with the readjustment of industrial structure and social structure. The structure characteristics of international system influence American trade policy, and the economic globalization develops American trade and affects the formulation and implementation of American trade policy.The source and motivation of the evolution of American trade policy lie in paradoxical movement of the science and technology and the system innovation which lead to the profound change in domestic industrial structure and international economic structure, in the change of social interest situation and the transition of parties and the change of interest groups and the reconstruction of social stratum, in the transformation of mode of production and way of life and value, and in the revolution that happened in world trade. The mental source of American trade policy depends on the ideological concept environment that is formed by the role of trade theory and American culture.Reciprocity and the principle to maximize the state interest will not be changed in the future development of American trade policy. The specific policy, however, depends on the paradoxical movement of international political and economic relation and the state interest of America, on the process of the economic globalization which will bring to America the speed, degree and balanced differences from trade pattern to the content of trade, on the countermeasures that America and the world will take on new trade problem, and on the development of American cultural values and theories and the conflict and coordination with other cultural values.The dissertation is divided as follows:Chapter I (Introduction) describes the basic content of U.S. trade policy, classification and theoretical framework, dividing historical stages of U.S. trade policy and analyses major policy forms; including proposing questions, literature review and evaluation, the structure of this arrangement, research methods and research perspective. Puting forward reciprocity the core value of the evolution of U.S. trade policy and building a "double triangle interaction" model, and putting forward the result of the interactions among elements of U.S. trade policy structure, interests and political elements of structural elements. This dissertaion takes Marxist theory as a basic guide, comparing thinking and policy, applying comparative analysis, hierarchical analysis, and theory and game theory methods to study the U.S. trade policy.Chapter II is about the establishment of trade policy and the high tariff policy (1776-1933), which is the first stage of U.S. trade policy, characterized by trade protection as the main feature of the period. This period is divided into three stages: low exploration period of the policy of trade protection, trade protection policy establishment and high-tariff trade protection. Dissertation analyses the development of United States trade policy in the context of modern industrialization, then further analyses social background, formation conditions, the dominant factor and basic development process of trade protection policy, explaining trade protection policies and political rivalry during the transition towards free trade tendencies; describing background and effects of the United States trade policy. Modern United States's imposition of high tariff trade protection policy greatly affected the economic life of the United States. Protection tariff guaranteed the domestic implementation of the laissez-faire economic policies by offering a good environment for free competition, and effectively protected the United States growing national industry, promoted the rapid development of U.S. industry. Under high tariff protection, the United States completed the restructuring of the major industries. In the context of industrialization, and confrontation between northern and southern regions and the policies between the two parties, there appeared two transitions of United States trade policy oriented in trade protection and trade liberalization.Chapter III transition of trade policy and development of free trade (1934-1974), described the turning point in the history of U.S. trade policy, its historical background and major content of free trade policy since the New Deal, then analyses development and evaluation of free trade policy since World War II; analysing characteristics and background of changes of trade policy. This is the second stage of U.S. trade policy. The U.S. Congress passed "Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act" in 1934, marked the beginning of free trade policy in the United States the dominant position of more than 40 years. The United States strongly advocated the establishment of a global multilateral free trade system. Under the initiative of the United States, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (later to become the 1994 World Trade Organization) was established, conducted through seven global multilateral trade negotiations. World trade liberalization improved significantly.Chapter IV. Trade Policy Reform and the leading role of fair trade (1974 - 2009), shows fair trade and U.S. trade policy change since 1970's, explains the origins, main features and value judgments of fair trade policy, then analyse the influence of policy orientation. This is the third stage of U.S. trade policy, and is a period of fair trade policy. Starting in 1974, U.S. trade policy welcomed new stage of development, reciprocity thought promoted a historic change of trade policy under the name of fair trade policy. The making and implementation of Fair trade policy brought the United States and the world into a new economic era of rules. Fair trade policies has a profound impact on the country's foreign trade strategy and the interrelated choice of system, the world trade policy orientation, and also profoundly affected the world order and the rules and systematic structures, and offered new content and new approaches to international disputes.Chapter V. dialectical understanding of U.S. Trade Policy, interprets the evolution of U.S. Trade policy, and explain the unity of opposites, of balance and equilibrium, the dialectical negation of negation and dynamics of development, analyses the new development of free trade and trade protection, new changes in the United States and the world. This dissertation manifests influence and effects towards choicemaking of American trade policy from game of interest group, formation of congress-government relations and value orientation of people, historical development of realignment and regrouping; from the perspective of cross-flow of production factors'cost influence in different historical stages, this dissertation analyses the dominant role of diferentiation of class and industries in trade political conflicts, analysing different characteristics of political strife, especially those of class alliances caused by trade policy. This dissertation exposes outer influence logics of trade policy choicemaking through national interest, partner relations, global strategy and overall global expansion, and historical development of international political economy considerations. The evolution of American trade policy is full of dialectics. Behind its complication lies the balance of national interest and other interests in complex interest struggles.This dissertation argues that"reciprocity"is always the core thinking in the history of American trade policy."High tariff protection"is the manifestation in the context of industrialization. The promotion of"free trade","fair trade"strategy or even"balanced trade"are all manifestations of reciprocity under different historical conditions. The evolution of American trade policy is a a complex dialectic development of double triangle interations: triangle interations among interest structure, political structure and industrial structure, and small triangle among each inside factors.