to "Prof. ATKINS PHD" only

Play devil’s advocate and attempt to debunk two peers’ opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of an open economy.

Comment #1

Allison

"A free and fair global trading system can result in economic win-wins. Open borders allow companies to grow in foreign markets and, simultaneously, ensure that businesses remain competitive at home. That’s why U.S. policy makers have traditionally urged developing countries to reduce tariff and nontariff barriers, often arousing their ire." (Shattering the Myths About U.S. Trade Policy, 2012)

The year I chose was the 1960’s. During this time, there were significant changes going on in the United States regarding foreign trade. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick had started what was known as,” The great Steel Industry,” Originally this had made the marvel of the modern world. Eventually it started to disintegrate in view of new plants and less expensive work in different nations. Different freighters put into ports along on the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf. They even went as far down the Saint Lawrence Seaway to include Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago to empty completed modern products in the heart of America. When it came to some point and time between 1960 and 1967, U.S imports regarding completed merchandise had expanded by 150 percent, with steel cars, materials and electronic products head of the new imports. (Shattering the Myths About U.S. Trade Policy. (2012, March)).

 

Started in 1947, under the support from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (also known as GATT), the World trade barriers were diminished.  By the 1960’s, GATT reached its highest point.  This was the time of the Kennedy Administration in the United States. Causing GATT to peak, was the Kennedy administration trying real endeavors to secure radical decreases in Tax rates. In Geneva in 1964, American agents and authorities of the Common Market had assembled what is now known as the Kennedy Round of the GATT discussions. This was started due to an exhaustive diminishment of obstructions to exchange made goods. The discussions concerning the rates on the least difficult gatherings were hard to reach. As well as the diminishments in farming taxes were touched base at-if at all- only with great difficulty. After about four years of discussion, the meeting dismissed with average tariff rates brought down to some place somewhere around 35 and 40 percent. The workers in the Unites States were very disappointed along with individuals from the Common Market. They were miserable from multiple points of view. At the same time they were miserable, they were also satisfied with the challenge they used on the United States. (Foreign Trade Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Foreign Trade, 2016)

At the end of the 1960s, the U.S. had lost force in what they had inspired drive for in trade liberalization. With what was known as the equalization of installments deficiencies, in the U.S., it started to bring about worry about the size of outside imports. Nontariff boundaries spread into the next decade. (Restoring a Global Economy, 1950–1980 - HBS Working Knowledge - Harvard Business School, 2005)

 

References

Foreign Trade Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Foreign Trade. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Foreign_Trade.aspx

Restoring a Global Economy, 1950–1980 - HBS Working Knowledge - Harvard Business School. (2005, August 22). Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/restoring-a-global-economy-19501980

Shattering the Myths About U.S. Trade Policy. (2012, March). Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2012/03/shattering-the-myths-about-us-trade-policy

Comment #2

Danielle

 In the 1980s, specifically around the 81-83 recession, unemployment was high and exports were low. Looking back at the 80s in total, you don't often think about unemployment but you may think about new innovations in technology, such as computers. Most of these innovations involved many expensive technologies that seemed to get smaller and smaller as time progressed, and most of these innovations were being mass produced overseas while domestically companies were still recovering. In response to this, the government was justifiably vested in protecting their own interests. They develop a protectionist policy to increase taxes on imports. This provided domestic companies a chance to keep costs low and compete with imports.

http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1131&context=njilb