Introduction

This chapter examines both the concepts and structures of the global trading regime before considering the ensuing debates. It also provides an analysis of Australia's place in the global trading regime. First, it outlines the international free trade regime. Second, it identifies some of the problems that have beset this system. Third, it notes the growth in preferential trade agreements. Fourth, it examines Australia's historical place in global trade before, finally, surveying more recent trends in Australia's global trade.

Recall the intense protests at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Millennium Round's Third Ministerial Meeting in Seattle, November and December 1999. Here we witnessed a dramatic illustration of the disputes being fought over the operation of the world trading regime. These public battles reflected both intellectual and policy concerns surrounding the nature of global trade. In particular, this major dispute reveals a broad coalescence of dissatisfaction with the liberal international economic order that was established immediately after World War II. Born after a period of devastation wrought through two world wars and the Great Depression, the new economic order attempted to remove barriers to trade and thereby prevent a repeat of past tragedies. The emergent system sponsored by the US aimed to implement a liberal trading regime that both espoused and practised free and open trade. Part of the post-war reconstruction process involved countries profiting from access to markets and removal of barriers to capital movement.