Trade Wars: The Collapse of America's Free Trade Consensus

By

Aaron Cavin

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A graph depicting the Index of the New York Stock Exchange.

New York Stock Exchange

A graph depicting the Index of the New York Stock Exchange from 1926 to 1939.

Map of nations’ relationship with the International Monetary Fund.

Map of IMF Nations

Map of nations’ relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Nations in orange, pink, and green are IMF member nations. Nations in yellow and red are non-member coutries who use the IMF’s data dissemination standards. Nations in grey do not interact with the IMF.

A graph depicting GDP per capita in the U.S. during the Great Depression.

GDP per American during the Great Depression

A graph depicting GDP per capita in the U.S. during the Great Depression (in 2000 dollars).

Map of WTO Nations.

Map of WTO Nations

Map of the world with World Trade Organization Members in green, European Union Members in blue, observer nations in yellow, and non-member nations in red.

Graph of the number of countries with banking crises each year from 1800 to 2000.

Annual Banking Crises

Graph of the number of countries with banking crises each year from 1800 to 2000. From 1945 to 1971, there were very few banking crises under the Bretton Woods agreement.

Graph depicting the imports and exports between the U.S. and China over the last 30 years.

U.S.-China Imports and Exports

Graph depicting the imports and exports between the U.S. and China over the last 30 years. While both imports and exports have grown over the years, the increase of American imports of Chinese goods has grown much faster than U.S. exports to China.

A graph depicting the yearly income of the wealthiest and poorest Americans.

U.S. Households By Total Yearly Income

A graph depicting the yearly income of the wealthiest and poorest Americans from 1967 to 2007.

A graph depicting U.S. unemployment rates from 1910 to 1960.

U.S. Unemployment Rate

A graph depicting U.S. unemployment rates from 1910 to 1960. The Great Depression era (1929-1939) is highlighted.

A graph depicting the per capita income of 10 nations.

Global Great Depression

A graph depicting the per capita income of 10 nations from 1925 to 1940.

A map of countries during the Cold War depicting U.S.-aligned countries.

U.S.-aligned, Communist-aligned, and Non-Aligned Countries

A map of countries during the Cold War depicting U.S.-aligned countries in blue, communist-aligned countries in red, and non-aligned nations in green.

A graph depicting falling union membership rates in the U.S.

Union Membership in the U.S.

A graph depicting falling union membership rates in the U.S.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade became the World Trade Organization in 1995.

GATT Becomes WTO

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) became the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.

The U.S.’s top trade partners in 2011.

U.S. Trade Partners

The U.S.’s top trade partners in 2011.

A map depicting signatories and potential signatories to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Trans-Pacific Partnership Map

A map depicting signatories (orange) and potential signatories (blue) to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Measures taken by nations to protect their internal economy at the expense of the world economy.

Global Protectionist Measures

Measures taken by nations to protect their internal economy at the expense of the world economy from 2008 to 2013.

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Cite this Site

Aaron Cavin , "Trade Wars: The Collapse of America's Free Trade Consensus" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

November, 2016

https://origins.osu.edu/article/trade-wars-collapse-americas-free-trade-consensus.