British protectionism and the international economy : overseas commercial policy in the 1930's

When, in the winter of 1931–2, Britain abandoned first the gold standard and then free trade, two potent symbols of her nineteenth-century international economic predominance had gone within the space of little more than six months. Tim Rooth's comprehensive 1993 study in the political economy of protectionism examines the forces behind the abandonment of free trade and the way that Britain then used protection to bargain for trade advantages in the markets of her chief suppliers of food and raw materials. Dr Rooth also examines Britain's economic relations with Germany and the USA in the deteriorating international political situation of the late 1930s. The retreat from multilateral trade policies, the growth of protection and the concomitant development of regional economic groupings have obvious parallels with current developments in the world economy. When in the winter of 1931-2 Britain first abandoned the gold standard and then free trade, two potent symbols of its nineteenth-century international economic predominance had gone within the space of little more than six months. Tim Rooth's comprehensive study in the political economy of protectionism examines the forces behind the abandonment of free trade and the way that Britain then used protection to bargain for trade advantages in the markets of its chief suppliers of food and raw materials. One result of the depression, greatly accentuated by the rise of protectionist barriers elsewhere in the world, was to heighten the importance of the British market, and particularly the dependence of primary producers, both within and outside the Empire, on Britain. The United Kingdom government, finding itself with enormously enhanced economic leverage, was therefore able to take advantage of this in a series of trade agreements both with the Commonwealth at Ottawa in 1932 and, comparatively neglected in previous studies, with the countries of Northern Europe and with Argentina. The book examines these, the World Economic and Monetary Conference of 1933, the trade dispute with Japan and the impact of Britain's trade treaty obligations on domestic agricultural protection. The symbiosis between economic policy and the deteriorating international political environment became all the more apparent in the negotiations with Germany and the USA in the late 1930s. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 List of Tables......Page 14 Introduction......Page 18 1 - Britain's international economic position in the 1920s......Page 26 2 - The political economy of protectionism......Page 52 3 - Imperial preference and the Ottawa Conference......Page 88 4 - The Scandinavian negotiations: formulation of policy......Page 118 5 - Completion of the first phase of negotiations: Scandinavia, Germany and Argentina......Page 143 6 - The world economic conference, Finland and Japanese competition......Page 176 7 - The Baltic states and Poland......Page 206 8 - British agricultural policy and imports during the 1930s......Page 229 9 - British exports to the trade agreement countries......Page 256 10 - Appeasing Germany and the United States......Page 292 11 - Some general conclusions......Page 324 Appendix A - United Kingdom: payments, clearing etc., Agreements in force 1931--1938......Page 339 Appendix B - Miscellaneous trade and payments agreements......Page 341 Appendix C - Imports into Britain from foreign agreement countries......Page 347 Appendix D - Total exports from Britain to foreign agreement countries and four dominions......Page 348 Appendix E - Imports of selected commodities into UK, 1931, 1937, showing percentage from Empire sources......Page 349 Bibliography......Page 351 Index......Page 364 After more than three-quarters of a century of free trade, Britain re-adopted protectionist policies early in the depression of the 1930s. Tim Rooth's comprehensive study examines the forces behind the abandonment of free trade and the way that Britain then used protection to bargain for trade advantages in the markets of her chief suppliers of food and raw materials. The retreat from multilateral trade policies, the growth of protection and the concomitant development of regional economic groupings has obvious parallels with current developments in the world economy. Tim Rooth's comprehensive 1993 study examines the forces behind the British abandonment of free trade in the 1930s and discusses the way that Britain used protection to bargain for trade advantages in the markets of her chief suppliers of food and raw materials. This historical study has obvious parallels with current developments in world trade. Although industrial predominance had been ceded to the United States and Germany before 1914, Britain had remained the world's premier trader, shipper and financier, adhering not only to free trade, but by maintaining a strong balance of payments position, having no difficulty in continuing to operate the gold standard.

examines The Forces Behind The British Abandonment Of Free Trade In The 1930s And The Way Protection Was Used To Bargain For Trade Advantages.