| The New Mercantilists?
Ludema (2007, Allies and Friends: The Trade Policy Review of the United States, World Economy, Vol 30, pp 1209-1221) wrote:
"The 2006 WTO Trade Policy Review of the United States reveals that national security concerns have become a dominant influence on US trade policy since 2001. This paper argues that direct and indirect effects of this influence have been deleterious to the multilateral trading system. Security concerns have led to an embrace of bilateralism that bears little relation to US commercial interests and will arguably detract from ongoing efforts at multilateral trade liberalisation. Security concerns have also led to a substantial change in customs and inspection procedures for goods bound for the US, which could swamp tariffs in terms of their trade-inhibiting effect. Finally, the unpopularity at home of US military actions abroad has weakened the US President and opened the door for rising protectionism in Congress"
Will national security continue to out-trump multilateralism? Will security become the means to justify higher US protectionism? (i.e. are we becoming more reliant on economic nationalism with its mercantilist backbone?)
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