The Trade Warriors: USTR and the American Crusade for Free Trade by Steve Dryden

Synopsis

As the recent controversy over NAFTA shows, free trade is an issue that evokes passionate debate among Americans. And the lightning rod for emotions over free trade is the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. In fact, during the NAFTA battle, Trade Representative Micky Kantor was pivotal in winning congressional approval of the agreement. Now, in Trade Warriors, former Business Week writer Steve Dryden provides the first comprehensive history of the USTR, an elite, Cabinet-level agency whose officials hold sway over the livelihoods of U.S. workers, the fortunes of small factories as well as multinational corporations, and America's relationships with the other major industrial powers of the world.

Based on extensive interviews and declassified documents, Trade Warriors traces the transformation of the postwar U.S. campaign for free trade. Dryden starts his narrative in the late 1940s, when the United States dominated the global economy, then moves to 1962, when President Kennedy appointed former Secretary of State Christian Herter to be the first-ever White House "special trade representative," and concludes with the landmark negotiations of the Clinton administration. With a fine journalist's eye, he takes us inside the contending forces that have shaped U.S. trade policy, weaving a compelling story of policymakers and negotiators—their behind-the-scenes struggles, their triumphs and failures. And alongside these hard-fought negotiations, he highlights a more subtle ideological battle, as he examines America's deep ambivalence about unrestricted free trade and government involvement in the economy. Noting our growing use of trade restrictions in defense of ourinterests, he concludes that while there has been much idealistic talk about free trade—a claim that if all the barriers come down, everyone will benefit—the government has long since abandoned such beliefs in practice. Finally, Dryden draws evocative portraits of notable USTRs, colorful biographical sketches worth reading for their own sake. We meet charismatic Texas Democrat Robert Strauss, who used flattery, self-depreciation, pleading, and coarse humor to close deals; Republican notable William Brock, who within months of taking office struck an agreement with the Japanese limiting their auto imports, but who could never become an insider in the Reagan administration; William Eberle, an Idaho businessman who spoke with a slight cowboy twang and whose tendency to play tough guy inside the negotiating room earned him the sobriquet "Typhoon Eberle"; and super-lawyer Carla Hills, who came tantalizingly close but couldn't conclude the biggest trade agreement in history.

Today, almost every American is touched in some way by the forces of international commerce. Trade Warriors is essential reading for anyone who wishes to better understand the evolving role of the United States in the world economy.

Annotation

This brilliantly written history of the office of the U.S. Trade Representative illuminates the part this office plays in our evoloving role in the world economy. Dryden traces the deep ambivalence most Americans have about the ideal of free trade, and includes vivid capsule portraits of all the U.S. Trade Representatives.

Biography

About the Author:

Steve Dryden is a former Business Week writer now associated with Bloomberg Business News.