Introduction

Towards the end of the Second World War, initiatives were taken on both sides of the Atlantic for the development of a post-war international economic order. In the United States the spirit of internationalism associated with Cordell Hull was not shared by all. On the British side, the conflicting postures, particularly with regard to international trade, were well represented in the differing positions taken over time (or even at the same time) by that country’s chief economic negotiator — Keynes. The choice between a multilateral, open and liberal system of international economic relations on the one hand, and a closed, structured and bilaterally negotiated system on the other was on the table then, and has remained so, in one form or another, ever since. This introductory chapter looks briefly at the consequences of attempts to establish a liberal trading order over the last forty years. It raises the question, as do some of the following chapters, as to whether liberal trade or international ‘industrial policy’ is the way of the future.