"Open trade is not just an economic opportunity; it is a moral imperative"
- George W. Bush (2001)Has open trade enhanced global security? Robert Zoellick makes some interesting points in his case for open trade, see here.
The history of US trade agreements traces back to the Smoot-Hawley Tarriff Act of 1930, but was impacted in 1934 by the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, signed by President Roosevelt. This gave the president authority to lower tariffs with the incentive for reciprocity. These tariff concessions were also adjusted later by the Trade Reform Act of 1974 by Nixon, and the Trade and Tariff Act, among many others...
