Problems Of International Trade Research Articles

Legal Problems of International Trade

Legal Problems of International Trade

British Monopoly Policy: A Current Analysis

T HE immediate postwar British government was convinced not only that a portion of the economy should be nationalized but also that the private sector should be made more competitive. Private monopoly was accused of decreasing the level of employment by distorting the distribution of income and of limiting British exports by fostering inefficiency of production. Increased competition, it was argued, would contribute significantly to the achievement of full employment and to the solution of the problems of international trade. Among the expected benefits of competition, these two were dominant. This postwar conviction led to the passage of the Monopolies Act in 1948,2 which, unlike the Sherman Act, made nothing illegal, but instead established an investigatory commission. The commission is to investigate cases of suspected monopoly, referred to it by the Board of Trade, to determine whether an industry's performance is in the undefined public interest.

International Trade Organization (Interim Commission)

On April 8, 1949, more than 500 delegates and assistants from thirty-four countries met in Annecy, France, for trade meetings convened to discuss tariff barriers and other problems of international trade. Twenty-three nations already adhered to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and eleven others wished to join it. The first of such meetings had been held in Geneva in 1947. The first meeting of the series held in Annecy concluded on April 22 after adopting a declaration defining the position of Palestine in relation to the agreement and adopting a decision to seek emergency measures to resolve the crisis of the Cuban textile industry. The meeting also studied charges of trade restrictions, plans for customs unions, problems of new tariff negotiations, African import restrictions that had introduced discriminations against imports from dollar and other hard currency areas, the dispute between India and Pakistan over rebate of the excise tax on exports to Pakistan from India, the South African–Southern Rhodesian customs union and modifications of various countries' tariff schedules introduced since 1947.

A Reappraisal of the United Kingdom's Balance of Payments Problem under Full Employment

The United Kingdom's problem in meeting her postwar import needs has been widely discussed; the debate on the United States-United Kingdom loan and the recent International Trade Organization meetings have brought it sharply to the fore again. The provisions of the loan requiring the United Kingdom to accept, partly through the International Trade Organization, a multilateral system of trading and to give up, within a year, the transitional controls and restrictions allowed under the Bretton Woods Agreements, calls for a review of the possibility of the United Kingdom's meeting the special demands of her foreign trade under a situation of full employment not only within the nation itself but over the world. It is largely accepted that if the world has a high and stable level of production and income, the problems of international trade will be at a minimum and will be more easily settled. The measures which are left to the United Kingdom in balancing her trade are based on the assumption that just such a condition will prevail and will allow domestic full employment and a higher standard of living. However, because of her normal excess of imports over exports of commodities and the still larger volume which will be desired in a fully employed economy, the United Kingdom must attain and maintain high levels of exports to balance her international payments and thereby not disturb her policies of domestic full employment. The special problem involved in reestablishing Britain's foreign trade is of primary importance to the correct solution of all transitional problems of international trade and to the establishment of a world-wide, long-run system to foster balanced expansion of world trade.' This paper takes up, in Part I, the problem of whether the United States-United Kingdom loan will make the

Analysis of National and International Aims and Interests in Trade

This introductory article on the Analysis of National and International Aims and Interests in Trade does not attempt an exhaustive study of any phase of foreign trade. It briefly discusses various aspects of trade relationships between countries, with particular reference to the trade interests and policies of the United States. It also summarizes trade characteristics influential in the determination of our National and International trade aims. For detailed analyses of special international trade problems, the reader is referred to the other articles in this symposium.

The United States and Britain's Economic Policy

T HERE is much confusion in American thought concerning the postwar economic policy of Great Britain. It is recognized that her problem in international trade and finance is a difficult and delicate one. Some think that she would be glad to have loans or a continuation of lend-lease in order to facilitate the transition to a peacetime economy. Some who believe this favor offering the help which they thing is required. Others are wary lest by some ingenious fiscal magic Britain may acquire a right to American help without conditions which our bankers might wish to impose. What does the United Kingdom actually want from this country? Does she favor stabilization of exchanges, or does she want to be free for competitive exchange depreciation? How fearful is she of competition by American exporters in the world market? Does she wish to work toward a world-wide economy of multilateral and free trade, or does she expect to erect barriers with discriminatory practices of various kinds, imperial preference and the like? Before it is possible to understand the attitude of Englishmen towards international economic policy, it is necessary to know something about the kind of society they expect to create for themselves. Ideas about international trade and finance are frequently expressed as if they were abstractions derived from study of policies which would be desirable for all the people of the world regarded as a single unit; but such ideas seldom govern the action of individual nations unless they harmonize with what these nations conceive to be in their own interest. Moreover, in democratic countries especially, no foreign policy can be long or effectively pursued unless it can be stated in terms which will mean something to the majority of the people; and the majority of the people, being concerned mainly about matters that appear to affect their personal lives, naturally think more about domestic affairs than they do about world organization. This is as true in Britain as it is in the United States. The postwar international economic policy of Great Britain will be determined by considerations arising out of the plans of the British for the improvement of life within the United Kingdom.