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Further to the first Activist Chat Video with John Bennett and Janet Eaton which
highlights issues around economic globalization and free trade, the
need to renegotiate NAFTA and alternatives being proposed at this
time in the US under the TRADE Act, comes an invaluable book which
provides a more indepth look at this very subject.

"Free Trade Doesn't Work - What Should Replace it and Why" by Ian Fletcher, not only explains in detail why the standard economic arguments free traders use all the time are false and what's wrong with NAFTA, CAFTA, the WTO, it also looks at what kind of economic ideas underpin changes required and provides a discussion of what a managed trade system could accomplish.

I'm ordering this book today and will provide further insights on this site at a later date. Check out the book review below. Exemplary praise from a diverse number of NGO's and experts in the field of free trade and its impacts.

BOOK REVIEW:
FREE TRADE DOESN'T WORK
What Should Replace it and Why
by Ian Fletcher, Adjunct Fellow at the San Francisco office
of the U.S. Business and Industry Council, a Washington
think tank founded in 1933. ian.fletcher@usbic.net.

If you already know free trade is a mistake, but don't know how to
prove it or what to do about it, this book is for you.

If you still think free trade is good for America and the world,
you're in for a big surprise...

This very readable book is aimed at both ordinary concerned citizens
and people with a bit of sophistication about economics. It is a
systematic examination of why free trade is slowly bleeding America's
economy to death and what can be done about it. It explains in detail
why the standard economic arguments free traders use all the time are
false, and what kind of economic ideas - well within the grasp of the
average American - justify protectionism instead. It examines the
history and politics of free trade and explains how America came to
adopt its present disastrous free trade policy. It looks at the
breakdown of specific industries and how we can rebuild them and
bring millions of high-paying jobs back to this country. It examines
what's wrong with NAFTA, CAFTA, the WTO, and the proposed Trans-
Pacific Partnership. It explains why free trade is bad not just for
America, but for poor foreign nations, too. It is sharply critical of
the current establishment, but from a bipartisan point of view, so
it should satisfy progressives, conservatives, and everyone in
between. It is a good counterargument to the Pollyanna view of
economic globalization. Read this book to get ahead of the curve on
America's next big economic controversy.

Praise for Free Trade Doesn't Work:
What Should Replace it and Why
$24.95
http://www.amazon.com/Free-Trade-Doesnt-Work-Replace/dp/0578048205

If it strikes you that most of the arguments put forth for "free
trade" are really just so much globaloney, you're right! Fletcher
rips the mask from free trade myths, pointing out that economists in-
creasingly reject the idea that our nation (or others) should base
economic policy on such a dubious proposition. This book is a
powerful tool for anyone who wants to help raise common
sense to high places.
-Jim Hightower, Bestselling author, national radio and newspaper
commentator, and editor of The Hightower Lowdown.

In Free Trade Doesn't Work, Ian Fletcher points to the ideal of `free
trade´ and proclaims it isn´t wearing any clothes! Instead of
following along with the crowd, Fletcher systematically presents
the failures of an unrestrained trade system and offers up a balanced
discussion of what a managed trade system could accomplish in its
place. His discussion of the World Trade Organization´
s goals, and of China´s open defiance of the spirit of WTO rules, is
refreshingly honest and timely.
A direct move toward managed and open global trade is what America
needs from its economic emperors, and this book is an important step
in that direction.
-Thomas S. Mullikin, author of Truck Stop Politics: Understanding the

Emerging Force of Working Class America.

Ian Fletcher has convincingly dismantled the facade that for decades
enticed U.S. cattle ranchers and their trade associations to support
a free trade policy that was systematically destroying the
economic integrity of their industry. A superb analysis of our
nation´s misdirection.
-Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund,
United Stockgrowers of America)

You have written a bible for us. It is brilliant! You even cover
issues I have been concerned about but never had time to discuss
with anyone else. I started by reading it and ended by studying it.
Am now going through it for the second time underlining and
highlighting.
-Brian O´Shaughnessy, Chairman, Revere Copper Products; Co-Chair,
Coalition for a Prosperous America

Ian Fletcher has laid out a powerful critique of so-called "free
trade" theory, while also making the case for rethinking and
reforming our current trade policies. Given the economic challenges
we face in an increasingly treacherous global economy, this book
provides essential tools and an-
alysis for policy makers and activists.
-John J. Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO and author of and author of
America Needs a Raise: Fighting for Economic Security and Social
Justice.

Drawing on the insights of a broad array of political persuasions,
Ian Fletcher delivers a devastating and powerful indictment of free
trade economics-one that should be widely read, not the
least by economists themselves who´s work generally remains confined
to their own narrow discipline. I agree with Fletcher: "we can´t
trust the economists."Free Trade Doesn't Work will spark
some much-needed debate on what sort of political and economic
policies we can trust.
-Gavin Fridell, author of Fair Trade Coffee: the Prospects and
Pitfalls of Market-Driven Social Justice, Assistant Professor of
Politics at Trent University.

Like the Holy Grail, free trade is a concept that works in the
classroom and in the minds of academics and others insulated from the

harsh realities of global trade in the real world. In the real
world, we have managed trade. This ranges from the blind free trade
faith of economists, editorial boards, and politicians to the
mercantilist, protectionist, predatory trade practiced by some
of our major global trading "partners" like China. This book is an
excellent introduction to these realities and what can be done about
them. Unregulated markets have driven the global eco-
nomy over the cliff, and it is now vital for economists and policy-
makers to consider alternative approaches to economic theory and
policy. Ian Fletcher makes a powerful case for abandoning
the simplistic mantra that markets generally maximize welfare and
tariffs or regulations reduce economic prosperity. He points to more
nuanced policies that avoid the extremes of blanket
protectionism and unregulated trade.
-Dan DiMicco, Chairman and CEO, Nucor Steel Corporation and author of

Steeling America's Future: a CEO's Call to Arms.

Ian Fletcher bravely takes on the free-trade theorists who led cheers
for the slow-motion disintegration of American prosperity and he
trumps them with facts and clear-eyed logic. If people will
listen, Fletcher's informed voice will help turn the country toward a
more promising future.
-William Greider, author of Come Home, America: The Rise and Fall
(and Redeeming Promise) of Our Country.

If the rest of your book is of this quality, you will have a classic
that will be of use for many years...
You are making a major contribution to thinking on trade policy.
-Pat Choate, Running mate of Ross Perot in 1996 and author of
Dangerous Business: The Risks of Globalization for America.

Rebuilding the American economy will require those in power to
understand that what benefits workers, benefits the country. In Free
Trade Doesn't Work, Ian Fletcher makes it clear that Amer-
ica's nearly $6 trillion trade deficit accumulated since NAFTA took
effect in 1994 benefits neither workers nor the nation. The book
debunks the myth of free trade and proposes a responsible
alternative that would restore a measure of sanity to America's
international trade policy.
-Leo W. Gerard, President, United Steelworkers.

Fletcher has written a powerful and refreshing critique of some
cherished assumptions held by mainstream economists. It is uniformly
insightful, often brilliant, and remarkably readable.
Obama´s team should read it - and soon.
-George C. Lodge, professor emeritus, Harvard Business School and
author of Managing Globalization in the Age of Interdependence.

Most Americans live under the myth that "sound economics" says so-
called "free trade" benefits all nations. Fletcher shows, in very
readable prose, how the discipline is finally catching up with
reality and common sense and is changing its mind on that matter.
This book will be an essential guide to the emerging debate over the
wisdom of "free trade" as a sound policy for our nation.
-Patrick A. Mulloy, Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and Security
Review Commission, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce, former
General Counsel, Senate Banking Committee.

A trenchant and comprehensive analysis of the gap between the theory
of free trade and reality, together with a revealing description of
the weaknesses of the theory itself.
-Ralph Gomory, Research Professor, Stern School of Business, New York

University and author of Global Trade and Conflicting National
Interests.

In this sophisticated, well-informed, and comprehensive study, Ian
Fletcher provides a very powerful, passionate, and convincing
critique of free trade in an accessible and engaging manner.
Read it.
-Ha-Joon Chang, University of Cambridge, author of Kicking away the
Ladder and Bad Samaritans.

Trading Up is an excellent guide to the economic realities obscured
by the intellectually hollow promotion of `free trade´. It is up-to-
date, comprehensive and very readable.
-Jeff Faux, Distinguished Fellow, Economic Policy Institute and
author of The Global Class War: How America´s Bipartisan Elite Lost
Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back.

A superb debunking of the arguments for free trade and a thoughtful
examination of the alternatives. Fletcher´s book is required reading
for policy-makers and for the general public trying to
understand how the United States has fallen into a debt trap and what

has to be done to escape it. The book is also a lesson in how
governments can sometimes convince citizens to support
policies that work against them.
-Richard H. Robbins. Author of Global Problems and the Culture of
Capitalism, and Globalization and the Environment; Distinguished
Teaching Professor at Plattsburgh State University.

Free Trade Doesn't Work offers a satisfying critique of the flaws of
free trade economics, and the damage that related policies have
caused to the US economy and beyond. Its arguments are
tools with which to break the hold of the current free trade
consensus over our politicians, and to work towards truly fair trade
and economic policies.
-Stephanie Celt, Director, Washington Fair Trade Coalition

Recently, Paul Samuelson, the godfather of modern economics, called
the economic orthodoxy pushing free trade "charlatans." After reading
Free Trade Doesn't Work you will know why he did. Ian Fletcher exposes the lies about free trade and a offers an easy to understand roadmap to economic reality.
-Bob Baugh, Executive Director, AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council

Ian Fletcher´s argument against free trade and in favor of tariffs is
not only a courageous assault on our so-called conventional wisdom,
it makes a brilliant and wildly compelling case for regulation. The
book is an impressive piece of scholarship, one that could and should
provide the blueprint for government intervention in commerce.
Economists will stand up and take notice. Wall Street will hate it.
-David Macaray, author, It´s Never Been Easy: Essays on Modern Labor
This readable book dramatizes our lost history of global trade and
punctures the mythology surrounding the benefits of unbridled free
trade. A vital primer for anyone trying to understand the current
trade debate.
-Chuck Collins, Institute for Policy Studies; co-author, The Moral
Measure of the Economy

Unregulated markets have driven the global economy over the cliff,
and it is now vital for economists and policy makers to consider
alternative approaches to economic theory and policy. Ian
Fletcher makes a powerful case for abandoning the simplistic mantra
that markets generally maximize welfare and tariffs or regulations
reduce economic prosperity. He points to more nuanced policies that
avoid the extremes of blanket protectionism and unregulated trade.
-Prof. Geoffrey Hodgson, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Institutional
Economics, Cambridge University Press.

Ian Fletcher´s book is of immense value in defining the parameters of the idolatry of free trade. Politicians and the general populace continue to be afraid to abandon this false god because of the kind of superstitions and inaccuracies that this book exposes very well. I would highly recommend it.
-Manuel F. Montes, Chief, Development Strategy and Policy Analysis,
United Nations Development Policy and Analysis Division.

Praise for Free Trade Doesn't Work: What Should Replace it and Why
Ian Fletcher is an Adjunct Fellow at the San Francisco office
of the U.S. Business and Industry Council, a Washington
think tank founded in 1933. He may be reached at
ian.fletcher@usbic.net.

---------------------------

CONTENT

Foreword by Edward Luttwak
..................................................................xiii

Introduction: Why We Can´t Trust the Economists........1

PART I: THE PROBLEM
Chapter 1: The Bad Arguments for Free Trade........19
Chapter 2: Deficits, Time Horizons, and Perverse Efficiency....37
Chapter 3: Trade Solutions That Won´t Work................56
Chapter 4: Critiques of Free Trade to Avoid..............78

PART II: THE REAL ECONOMICS OF TRADE
Chapter 5: Ye Olde Theory of Comparative Advantage............97
Chapter 6: The Deliberately Forgotten History of Trade........124
Chapter 7: The Negligible Benefits of Free Trade..........151
Chapter 8: The Disingenuous Law and Diplomacy of Free Trade...167

PART III: THE SOLUTION
Chapter 9: Where Does Growth Really Come From?........186
Chapter 10: The Multiple Equilibrium Revolution............215
Chapter 11: The Natural Strategic Tariff.........................231
Chapter 12: The End of the Free Trade Coalition........249