This comprehensive study finds that tariffs and quantitative import restrictions in place in 1990 cost American consumers about $70 billion, more than 1 percent of GDP. The net national welfare loss, after deducting tariff revenues and transfers to domestic producers, was $11 billion, of which perhaps 70 percent was captured by foreign producers as quota rents. Nearly half of the consumer costs are accounted for by 21 highly protected sectors, and more than a third, $24 billion, are attributable to textiles and apparel alone. The cost to consumers of "special" protection aside from textiles...

Air and water pollution blighted northern Mexican cities long before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a glimmer on the political horizon. Not surprisingly, when NAFTA became a political reality, environmentalists argued that commercial competition would weaken environmental standards in Canada and the United States and industrial growth in Mexico would further damage its weak environmental infrastructure. NAFTA's huge success in expanding free trade has concentrated population and environmental abuse at the US-Mexico border where it is most visible to Americans. Many...

It is often pointed out that "for every bad borrower, and for every failed project, there is also a culpable lender or investor." This observation is particularly apt for the debate now raging in the capital markets: should private bankers and investment managers bear a greater share of the costs when financial crises erupt in emerging economies? Critics who have analyzed the "plumbing" of the world's financial architecture have thus far devoted enormous attention to the demand side--structural weaknesses in emerging markets. They have excoriated the IMF for ineptitude and policy mistakes....

Price divergence is readily apparent to anyone who shops. Travelers from Manchester to London, or from Chicago to Paris, are hit by sticker shock. Products ranging from London Fog raincoats to Viagra are available over the Internet at half their retail store prices. Common experience tells us that prices for identical products differ between countries, between cities, even between neighboring shops. On the other hand, common experience also tells us that open markets and greater competition will force a degree of price convergence, if not identical prices.

This monograph presents...

NAFTA entered into force in 1994 after a bitter Congressional debate. But NAFTA in operation has proved no less controversial than NAFTA before ratification, for both supporters and opponents of trade liberalization have cited experience with the agreement to justify their positions. To provide a factual basis for this ongoing debate, the authors evaluate NAFTA's performance over the first seven years, comparing actual experience with both the objectives of the agreement's supporters and the charges of its critics. They then examine future challenges and opportunities in the trade and...

Within the next decade, 100,000 class action Chinese plaintiffs, organized by New York trial lawyers, could sue General Motors, Toyota, General Electric, Mitsubishi, and a host of other blue-chip corporations in a US federal court for abetting China's denial of political rights, for observing China's restrictions on trade unions, and for impairing the Chinese environment. These plaintiffs might claim actual damages of $6 billion and punitive damages of $20 billion. Similar blockbuster cases are already working their way through federal and state court systems.

This nightmare scenario...

The mainstay of federal business taxation, the US corporate income tax, is riddled with distortions and inequities. As a means of taxing the richest Americans--a popular goal--the corporate income tax is a hopeless failure. Many companies pay no corporate tax, and among those that do, the burden is highly uneven. Meanwhile, the richest Americans command income from numerous sources besides corporate dividends. The distortions and inequities are amazing. Under pressure from business lobbies, Congress legislates deductions and exemptions that twist the corporate tax base far from any plausible...

At first sight, a free trade agreement (FTA) between Switzerland and the United States seems implausible, but this important new study concludes that an FTA between the two countries would be highly worthwhile to both. As leading advocates of market capitalism, Switzerland and the United States are well situated to conclude an FTA that breaks new ground in dismantling barriers. The study finds that the annual GDP gains to each partner from expanded trade could be on the order of $1.1 billion.

Since its accession to the WTO, China has become the United States' third-largest trading partner and the sixth-largest market for US exports. Between 2000 and 2005, US imports from China rose from $100 billion to $243 billion, while US exports to China climbed from $16 billion to $42 billion. As China continues its rise as a great power, The United States Congress and the administration wrestle with one another over the proper tactics and strategies to shape US-China economic relations. What major disputes now, and looming on the horizon, will shape future US-China relations; and what can be...

The United States and Pakistan established diplomatic relations in 1947, shortly after Pakistan gained its independence. Since then, relations have alternated between episodes of close partnership and sharp friction--reflecting the ups and downs of global and regional geopolitics. The tides of foreign policy have correspondingly affected trade and investment. Post-September 11th diplomacy has now created a strong relationship between Pakistan and the United States. Would a free trade agreement between these two counties benefit them? What type of economic benefits could be expected? This new...