Introduction

Recent years have seen an alarming revival of protectionism among the Western industrialized countries. This has been the response to a decade of persistent economic crises, sluggish growth, industrial decline and rising unemployment. As the two major actors, the European Community and the United States, between them, bear the major responsibility for the breakdown of the liberal world trading system. Japan, which has been roundly condemned for being highly protectionist, has made some, if slow, progress in opening up markets to foreign goods.