Clashing over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy (Markets and Governments in Economic History)

Should the United States be open to commerce with other countries, or should it protect domestic industries from foreign competition? This question has been the source of bitter political conflict throughout American history. Then, controversy over the Smoot-Hawley tariff during the Great Depression led to a policy shift toward freer trade, involving trade agreements that eventually produced the World Trade Organization. Deeply researched and rich with insight and detail, Clashing over Commerce provides valuable and enduring insights into US trade policy past and present. Such conflict was inevitable, James Madison argued in The Federalist Papers, because trade policy involves clashing economic interests. From the start, trade policy divided the nation—first when Thomas Jefferson declare an embargo on all foreign trade and then when South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over excessive taxes on imports.             Douglas A. As the Trump administration considers making major changes to US trade policy, Irwin’s sweeping historical perspective helps illuminate the current debate. Irwin makes sense of this turbulent history by showing how different economic interests tend to be grouped geographically, meaning that every pro

In its breadth and depth, Clashing over Commerce represents a major contribution.”. “This is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive discussion of trade policy since Taussig’s immensely influential Tariff History of the United States. Irwin describes the profound evolution of American trade policy from colonial times to the present, bringing up to date with the most recent empirical research and the emergence of a broader trade policy