Negotiating Freer Trade

On November 17, 1938, Great Britain, the United States, and Canada, after four
years of discussion and manoeuvre, signed two wide–ranging and interlocking
trade agreements. A few large elements dominated the talks. The Americans
wanted to breach the walls of the British imperial preferential tariff system.
The British were anxious to retain markets and political support in the
British dominions and the Baltic, while protecting their domestic agriculture
and improving political relations with the United States. Canada, whose
acquiescence and co–operation were necessitated by the pre–existing network of
trade agreements, hoped to win new export markets, to retain old ones, and to
achieve international political tranquility through economic means. Although
the negotiations began with a mixture of lofty and ignoble motives, in the end
the latter predominated.

The authors have drawn on archival and statistical materials in all three
countries to provide a clear and detailed account of the economic context of
the mid–1930s, the process of negotiations, the issues, and the political and
economic significance, both then and now, of the final agreements. Their work
is a valuable case–study of the problems that face any country that tries to
negotiate freer trade. It is therefore full of contemporary resonance and
relevance, and will be of interest to students of and specialists in modern
history (European, British, and North American), international relations, and
international economic policy.