“The Perils of Soya Sauce”

Abstract

This chapter examines Dwight D. Eisenhower's ideas about the role of trade and investment in U.S. foreign policy. In inheriting a system of trade restrictions against the Communist bloc, Eisenhower faced a dilemma. He believed in fighting Communism on every front, but he considered the control regime in place onerous for U.S. friends, allies, and Americans. He would accordingly oppose efforts to strengthen prohibitions and refuse to penalize those countries whose economic future depended on liberalized trade rules. This clearly applied to trade with China, where the president openly supported liberalization of the international order even though he did not revolutionize American policy. On December 17, 1950, the United States made a unilateral decision to embargo China in retaliation for its entry into the Korean War. This chapter considers the effects of the U.S.-promoted trade control regimes on the United States.