| This study examines a critically important question in the conduct of US trade policy. That is: why does the United States seek to control certain kinds of exports? Given the sheer size of the US economy and its importance in the development and maintenance of the current international trade regime, a better understanding of the dynamics and determinants of US trade policy is essential for both policymakers as well as scholars and theorists.; There are four theoretical perspectives to explain foreign trade policy tendencies: the international political view, the international economic view, the domestic approach (statism), and the domestic societal view. By reflecting these four theoretical perspectives, I analyze the determinants of US Export Administration policymaking. To do that, I examine the relevant literature explaining the influences upon trade policymaking and based on that I develop a set of hypotheses worthy of testing to determine the relative importance of each factor. To test the hypotheses I use regression analysis, applying it to a series of 54 yearly observations from 1946 to 1999. I generate a previously unused dependent variable, propensity to control exports measured by the budget for export controls, with independent variables that represent each theoretical perspective. The findings indicate that the international political and domestic statist perspectives dominate the analysis. Specifically, treaty making and international tensions, as measured by military budgets and the involvement of the US in military conflict, on the one hand, and partisan control of the Executive appear highly relevant for understanding US trade policy.; The findings are different from the earlier research that emphasized the role of the US Executive. However the previous studies did not include international factors, such as international politics and international economics, in their analyses of the determinants of the US export control acts. Therefore it might be possible to claim that the different results are caused by the different approaches, although the domestic considerations that were the focus of the earlier research were in fact included in this study and their relative worth was assessed. |
