This is the story of the 1988 Free Trade Agreement negotiations between Canada and the US, the preparations for and conduct of the negotiations, as well as the ideas and issues behind them.
Description
On 2 January 1988, Canada and the United States signed what was then the most comprehensive free trade agreeement the world had ever seen. This book is the story of those FTA negotiations, the preparations for and conduct of the negotiations, as well as the ideas and issues behind them. From their unique perspective as participants, Michael Hart, Bill Dymond, and Colin Robertson capture the drama and the personalities involved in the long struggle to make a free trade deal. They describe the extensive consultations, the turf-fighting among insiders, the innate caution of both politicians and bureaucrats, and the need to cultivate powerful constituencies in order to overcome the inertia of conventional wisdom.
Reviews
Loaded with detail about specific issues between the U.S. and Canadian negotiators.
- Jeffrey Simpson
Insiders' view of free-trade talks excels in outlining why and how ... satisfying story of the persevering little guy winning an even break from his huge, indifferent neighbour.
- David Evans
A book written by bureaucrats that is both interesting and easy to read ... as well as an important revealing account of a vital period in our economic history.
- Clive Cocking