{"product_id":"the-trade-warriors-ustr-and-the-american-crusade-for-free-trade","title":"The Trade Warriors: USTR and the American Crusade for Free Trade","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs the recent controversy over NAFTA shows  free trade is an issue that evokes passionate debate among Americans. And the lightning rod for emotions over free trade is the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. In fact  during the NAFTA battle  Trade Representative Micky Kantor was pivotal in winning congressional approval of the agreement. Now  in Trade Warriors  former Business Week writer Steve Dryden provides the first comprehensive history of the USTR  an elite  Cabinet-level agency whose officials hold sway over the livelihoods of U.S. workers  the fortunes of small factories as well as multinational corporations  and Americas relationships with the other major industrial powers of the world. Based on extensive interviews and declassified documents  Trade Warriors traces the transformation of the postwar U.S. campaign for free trade. Dryden starts his narrative in the late 1940s  when the United States dominated the global economy  then moves to 1962  when President Kennedy appointed former Secretary of State Christian Herter to be the first-ever White House \"special trade representative \" and concludes with the landmark negotiations of the Clinton administration. With a fine journalists eye  he takes us inside the contending forces that have shaped U.S. trade policy  weaving a compelling story of policymakers and negotiators--their behind-the-scenes struggles  their triumphs and failures. And alongside these hard-fought negotiations  he highlights a more subtle ideological battle  as he examines Americas deep ambivalence about unrestricted free trade and government involvement in the economy. Noting our growing use of trade restrictions in defense of our interests  he concludes that while there has been much idealistic talk about free trade--a claim that if all the barriers come down  everyone will benefit--the government has long since abandoned such beliefs in practice. Finally  Dryden draws evocative portraits of notable USTRs  colorful biographical sketches worth reading for their own sake. We meet charismatic Texas Democrat Robert Strauss  who used flattery  self-depreciation  pleading  and coarse humor to close deals; Republican notable William Brock  who within months of taking office struck an agreement with the Japanese limiting their auto imports  but who could never become an insider in the Reagan administration; William Eberle  an Idaho businessman who spoke with a slight cowboy twang and whose tendency to play tough guy inside the negotiating room earned him the sobriquet \"Typhoon Eberle\"; and super-lawyer Carla Hills  who came tantalizingly close but couldnt conclude the biggest trade agreement in history. Today  almost every American is touched in some way by the forces of international commerce. Trade Warriors is essential reading for anyone who wishes to better understand the evolving role of the United States in the world economy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44986618150965,"sku":"ByrdShop_0195067525","price":92.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195067521.jpg?v=1770911140","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-trade-warriors-ustr-and-the-american-crusade-for-free-trade","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}