Domestic politics and foreign trade policy, 1930s–1990s

Abstract

Using sociological theories of the state, I examine three major shifts in U.S. trade policy: the 1934 Trade Act, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the North American Free Trade Agreement. I examine how both institutional state structures and political alliances among societal organizations combined to influence the trade policy formation process at each historical juncture. I employ comparative-historical methods to analyze the impacts of business, labor, and environmental organizations and state institutional structures (e.g., Congress and the Executive Branch) on the evolution of trade policy. I argue that the relationships between societal organizations and state structures change across historical periods and are a function of the way in which the international economy affects domestic political alliances. The sociological significance of this research is that it provides an understanding of the political processes through which international trade and investments have expanded since the 1930s and the influence societal organizations and state structures have on this process.