Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T07:08:45.833Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

21 - Global trade

from Part 3 - The new agenda: globalisation and global governance

Maryanne Kelton
Affiliation:
Lecturer in the School of Political and International Studies, Flinders University
Richard Devetak
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Anthony Burke
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Jim George
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
Get access

Summary

Introduction

This chapter examines both the concepts and structures of the global trading regime before considering the ensuing debates. It also provides an analysis of Australia's place in the global trading regime. First, it outlines the international free trade regime. Second, it identifies some of the problems that have beset this system. Third, it notes the growth in preferential trade agreements. Fourth, it examines Australia's historical place in global trade before, finally, surveying more recent trends in Australia's global trade.

Recall the intense protests at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Millennium Round's Third Ministerial Meeting in Seattle, November and December 1999. Here we witnessed a dramatic illustration of the disputes being fought over the operation of the world trading regime. These public battles reflected both intellectual and policy concerns surrounding the nature of global trade. In particular, this major dispute reveals a broad coalescence of dissatisfaction with the liberal international economic order that was established immediately after World War II. Born after a period of devastation wrought through two world wars and the Great Depression, the new economic order attempted to remove barriers to trade and thereby prevent a repeat of past tragedies. The emergent system sponsored by the US aimed to implement a liberal trading regime that both espoused and practised free and open trade. Part of the post-war reconstruction process involved countries profiting from access to markets and removal of barriers to capital movement.

Type
Chapter
Information
An Introduction to International Relations
Australian Perspectives
, pp. 248 - 259
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Capling, Ann 2001, Australia and the global trade system: from Havana to Seattle, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. An excellent account of Australia's place in the global trading system.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Capling, Ann 2005, All the way with the USA: Australia, the US and free trade, Sydney: UNSW Press. A succinct analysis of the recently negotiated free trade agreement between Australia and the US.Google Scholar
Gilpin, Robert 2001, Global political economy: understanding the international economic order, Princeton: Princeton University Press. A comprehensive account of the history and competing ideologies of international political economy.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Global trade
    • By Maryanne Kelton, Lecturer in the School of Political and International Studies, Flinders University
  • Edited by Richard Devetak, University of Queensland, Anthony Burke, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Jim George, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: An Introduction to International Relations
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139168557.023
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Global trade
    • By Maryanne Kelton, Lecturer in the School of Political and International Studies, Flinders University
  • Edited by Richard Devetak, University of Queensland, Anthony Burke, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Jim George, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: An Introduction to International Relations
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139168557.023
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Global trade
    • By Maryanne Kelton, Lecturer in the School of Political and International Studies, Flinders University
  • Edited by Richard Devetak, University of Queensland, Anthony Burke, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Jim George, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: An Introduction to International Relations
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139168557.023
Available formats
×