Issues and Options for U.S.-Japan Trade Policies

Series

• Studies in International Economics

Because of the close economic links between the United States and Japan, it is important to develop a better understanding of these links and how they may be turned to the advantage of the two nations and their trading partners by improvements in the international policy environment. This book deals with the potential for such improvements as part of formal government-to-government negotiations in the multilateral context in the World Trade Organization (WTO), regionally in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and bilaterally with the administration of national trade laws and the negotiation of free trade agreements.

The chapters represent a spectrum of economic and legal approaches to the evaluation of policies and institutions. The multilateral issues cover the economic effects of a new WTO negotiating round, including reform of Japan's agricultural policies, services liberalization, antidumping, intellectual property rights, and trade and the environment. The regional issues include theoretical and simulation analysis of the benefits of preferential trading arrangements and the APEC policy of open regionalism. U.S.-Japan bilateral relations include analysis of the major actions and positions taken by the two nations in the context of their national trade laws and policies, how their trade policies are implemented, the effects of bilateral trade agreements, and the interplay of legal decisions reached in WTO actions with measures undertaken by the two nations.

The book is designed for a broad audience consisting of academic economists, lawyers, policymakers, and students interested in U.S.-Japan international economic relations.

Robert M. Stern is Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He has been an active contributor to international economic research and policy for over four decades. He has published numerous papers and books on a wide variety of topics, including international commodity problems, the determinants of comparative advantage, price behavior in international trade, balance-of-payments policies, the computer modeling of international trade and trade policies, and trade and labor standards. He is also the series editor for the University of Michigan Press's Studies in International Economics.

Praise / Awards

• "Traditional U.S. and Japan bilateral trade policy issues and negotiations must now be seen through such new prisms as the WTO, the Millennium Round, regional free trade agreements, and the environment. In this impressive array of studies, Professor Robert Stern and his colleagues address these elements with focused, specific chapters which together cover a comprehensive range of important topics. This book provides compelling information and analysis for anyone interested in the economic relations of the world's two largest, inextricably linked nations."
  —Hugh Patrick, Columbia University
  
• "A rich offering of expert analyses of major trade policy issues. Past performance and current practice are assessed from bilateral, regional, and multilateral perspectives. Economic and legal aspects of policy options covering antidumping, preference areas, agricultural protection, the WTO, intellectual property rights, services trade, and more are explored."
  —Sven W. Arndt, C.M. Stone Professor and Director of The Lowe Institute of Political Economy, Claremont McKenna College