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Misadventures of the Most Favored Nations
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Misadventures of the Most Favored Nations

Clashing Egos, Inflated Ambitions, and the Great Shambles of the World Trade System

Paul Blustein
Public Affairs, 2009

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Veteran journalist Paul Blustein blames half the 2008 economic meltdown – the non-Wall Street half – on dysfunctional global trade policies, and then he explains why. World trade is an arcane topic, complete with mysterious acronyms, complex rules, and negotiators with huge egos and serpentine negotiating positions pushed by antagonistic nations. In an increasingly global economy, trade negotiations are never simple. Even so, Blustein manages to tell this provocative, complex, depressing story as engagingly as possible. At times the book bogs down in negotiating points that only trade technocrats will appreciate, but Blustein fleshes out the story by capturing the quirky, sometimes volatile, personalities involved. Accordingly, getAbstract recommends his book to those who can’t get enough about world trade. If you want all the ins and outs, you’ll be very happy here.

Take-Aways

  • To preclude the trade protectionism that fueled the Great Depression and World War II, 23 nations signed on to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1948.
  • Despite GATT’s limitations, economists credit it with raising productivity and promoting worldwide economic expansion in the second half of the 20th century.
  • GATT’s successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO), enforces global trade rules.

About the Author

Paul Blustein is an award-winning business journalist who has written for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

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