This book explains the fundamentals of U.S. trade
policy and trade law. It includes analysis of specific trade statutes and
relates them to actual investigations and petitions. It also contains an overview of the many federal agencies that have a role in shaping trade
policy and a glossary of trade terms. This summary is adapted from the book's introduction.
William H. Lash III is on the faculty of the George Mason University School of Law and is Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University in St. Louis.
The complex regulations that govern
international trade today form an arcane and often opaque legal regime. The Internal Revenue Code has been favorably compared with the U.S. laws on international trade in terms of clarity and precision. In addition, the Internal Revenue Code applies universally. Many consumers are "taxed" by the application of the international trade laws without realizing it or appreciating the goals that the trade laws seek to serve. This is the point addressed by this volume.