ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the possibility of a tripolar international regime as a result of a Fortress Europe stimulating the formation of American and Asian trade blocs. It explores probable consequences for trade, for welfare inside and outside the blocs, and for the monetary regime. The book provides an overview of types of agreements—unilateral, bilateral, minilateral, multilateral—and of the implications of different levels of integration, and surveys the sources of controversy about the welfare effects of trade agreements. It focuses on European Community 1992 throughout her survey of controversies surrounding the effects of preferential trade arrangements on the world trading system. The book suggests that General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade use countries' respect for already-negotiated market-access rights in dealing with regional questions, instead of trying to make the rules of article XXiV more complicated than they already are.
