International Trade Law: A Comprehensive E-Textbook, Volume 1 Interdisciplinary Foundations (6th edition)

Abstract

Volume One, Interdisciplinary Foundations, carefully explains the rich, diverse intellectual heritage of international trade. Part One sets the tone for this and the remaining Volumes, laying out 10 themes – including the importance of having fun through the study of the field.

Part Two shows how and why cross-border importation and exportation, and foreign direct and portfolio investments, are more than merely economic phenomena. Morality is very much at stake. Dating to Ancient Greece and Rome, and through the great thinkers of the early and medieval Christian Church, trade transactions, and the behavior of traders, were the subject of philosophical and religious debate. Only in 18th and 19th centuries did the writings of classical economists – Adam Smith and David Ricardo – pivot attention to economic analyses of mercantilism and free trade.

Parts Three and Four thus cover the economics of trade. Here, too, diversity is evident: both capitalist and communist trade theory is discussed in detail. Some of these economic topics link to the politics of trade, including trade deficits, the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem, and industrial policy.

In Part Five, the sweep of trade history is chronicled. American trade history – not just tariff policy before, during, and after the Civil War, but also the reality of the Constitutional protection for slave trade – is examined. So, too, is the history of the modern multilateral trading system, which arises from the Great Depression and Atlantic Charter, and takes root with the GATT in 1947, and ultimately the WTO in 1995. All of the multilateral trade negotiation (MTN) rounds, including the failed Doha Round, are analyzed.

Finally, Part Six reviews another interdisciplinary foundation of trade, namely, international relations (IR) theory. Here, Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism are explained. These theories are a reminder of the promise, and limitation, of trade as means to build peace among peoples.

Overall, Volume One welcomes readers, regardless of their prior background, by giving them the interdisciplinary tools they need to be well-educated and well-rounded in International Trade Law. Like the other seven Volumes of International Trade Law: A Comprehensive E-Textbook, this Volume is available Open Access, and thus freely, quickly downloadable.