Abstract
Trade agreements have always been a very active contributor to the development of modern history, although the rationale for those agreements has changed over time. Such changes over time reflect the focus of the countries concerned, which, in general, has determined whether the agreements formed favour protectionism and mercantilism or free trade and liberalisation. This tension continues today and continues to revolve around world events and political goals. This chapter initially provides a brief history of trade agreements, and then outlines the focus of each of the following chapters.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Heckscher Eli F (Nov 1936) Revisions in Economic History: V. Mercantilism. The Economic History Review 7(1): 44–55.
- 2.
Ibid., 45.
- 3.
The use of tariffs within international trade have been exercised for many centuries. For example, Henry VII of England imposed tariffs on wool exports in the fifteenth century and attempted to discourage raw wool exports to the Netherlands and encourage the import of skilled labour to work the wool. See Chang Ha-Joon (1 September 2002) Kicking Away the Ladder: How the Economic and Intellectual Histories of Capitalism Have Been Re-Written to Justify Neo-Liberal Capitalism. Post-Autistic Economics Review 15(1): article 3.
- 4.
Heilperin Michael A.: Economic Nationalism: From Mercantilism to World War II. Mises Institute. 13 July 2010. Excerpted from Chapter 3 of Studies in Economic Nationalism (http://mises.org/resources/5155/Studies-in-Economic-Nationalism). https://mises.org/library/economic-nationalism-mercantilism-world-war-ii. Accessed 1 May 2018.
- 5.
Investopedia. What is ‘Mercantilism’. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mercantilism.asp. Accessed 10 May 2018.
- 6.
Quora. What are Some Major Differences Between Protectionism and Mercantilism? Morrison Spencer P (22 April 2017) https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-major-differences-between-protectionism-and-mercantilism. Accessed 1 August 2018.
- 7.
Quora. How Different is Trump’s Economic Model from Mercantilism? Feigenbaum James (16 March 2017) https://www.quora.com/How-different-is-Trumps-economic-model-from-mercantilism. Accessed 1 August 2018.
- 8.
Investopedia, supra note 6.
- 9.
World Trade Organization (2011) World Trade Report 2011. The WTO and Preferential Trade Agreements: From Co-existence to Coherence. p. 49. https://www.worldfinance.com/infrastructure-investment/government-policy/top-five-trade-deals-that-changed-history. Accessed 1 August 2018.
- 10.
David Ricardo, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, (John Murray, Albemarie-Street, 1817), para 364.
- 11.
Ibid., para 156–170.
- 12.
Bishop John D. (1995) Adam Smith's Invisible Hand Argument. Journal of Business Ethia 14: 165–180, 1995; Also see S. M. Soares (ed.), Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. MetaLibri Digital Library, 29 May 2007. https://www.ibiblio.org/ml/libri/s/SmithA_WealthNations_p.pdf. Accessed 1 August 2018.
- 13.
Liu Glory M. (2018) The apostle of free trade:’ Adam Smith and the nineteenth-century American trade debates. History of European Ideas 44:2, 210–223, p. 215. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01916599.2018.1429709.
- 14.
Larson Jonathan (1993) The History of ‘Free Trade’. http://www.elegant-technology.com/TVAfretr.html. Accessed 1 August 2018; Also see Shuyong Liu (1997) Hong Kong: A Survey of Its Political and Economic Development over the Past 150 Years. The China Quarterly, 151: 583–592.
- 15.
Larson, supra note 13.
- 16.
World Finance (undated) Top 5 Trade Deals that Changed History. https://www.worldfinance.com/infrastructure-investment/government-policy/top-five-trade-deals-that-changed-history. Accessed 1 August 2018.
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
Ibid.
- 19.
World Trade Organization, supra note 9, p. 50.
- 20.
Ibid.
- 21.
Ibid., p. 52.
- 22.
- 23.
Quora, supra note 7.
- 24.
Salman Ahmed, Alexander Bick (17 August 2017) Trump’s National SecurityStrategy: A New Brand of Mercantilism? http://carnegieendowment.org/2017/08/17/trump-s-national-security-strategy-new-brand-of-mercantilism-pub-72816. Accessed 1 August 2018.
- 25.
Ibid.
- 26.
Some argue that the neo-liberal approach is in fact Mercantilism e.g., Gee Tim (2009) The World System is Not Neo-Liberal: The Emergence of Structural Mercantilism. Critique 37(2): 253–259.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Corbin, L., Perry, M. (2019). Turbulent Times for FTAs: Australia and the Region. In: Corbin, L., Perry, M. (eds) Free Trade Agreements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3038-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3038-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3037-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3038-4
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)