An analysis of the trade issues that characterized the United States during the Reagan administration, and the ways the nation attempted to tackle them.

Under the Reagan presidency, the United States saw a period of strong economic growth. Analyzing the evolution of US foreign trade and its impact on the economy under the Reagan administration, Giuseppe La Barca shows how their economic achievements came about in part through well-exploited luck and reaffirmation of the supremacy of US economic interests. In stimulating its economy by consuming more than it produced, the US caused a growing trade deficit, appreciation of the dollar and an inflow of foreign capital that attracted prolonged differential interest rates. Offering a critical analysis of the evolution of US foreign trade and its impact on the national economy during the 1980s, this book shows how domestic and international economic policies shaped one another, and the impact they had in an increasingly globalizing world.

"La Barca has written a highly detailed and close analysis of US trade policy under the Reagan administration at a critical point in the transition to the globalized international economy of the late 20th century, a subject he has made particularly his own." - Bernard Attard, Associate Professor in Economic History, University of Leicester, UK