U.S. Regional Trade Policy Research

Since the mid-1980s, one of the most outstanding changes in United States'foreign economic policy was that U.S. had a preference for the Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs). It raised many scholars'attention and they showed strong research interests in the changes especially confronted with the facts that the Clinton administration brought forward ambitious free trade area plan and that the George W. Bush government executed "competitive liberalization" strategy. But among so many research achievements regarding RIAs signed by U.S., most put emphasis on pure economic analysis while weakening or ignoring the function of political factors. Even some research into political motivation behind the RIAs of U.S., the opinion they hold was problematic in author's view. So it would make perfect sense both in theory and practice if the thesis could systematically uncover the political motivation behind the RIAs signed by U.S.The new institutionalism is applied by the thesis to explain the RIAs policy adopted by U.S. The author thinks that the multi-lateral trade institution and the RIAs are interlinked from U.S.'s point view regarding maintaining hegemony, though someone might insist that they are totally different in nature. The multi-lateral trade institution has been an indispensable part of international institution strategy U.S. executed since world war II, but it couldn't solve the challenges confronted by U.S., nor could unilateralism do. So U.S. was in need of an appropriate tactic to get rid of predicament. It is RIAs provided the feasible way out for U.S. Thus, when explaining the transformation of U.S.'foreign economic policy from multi-lateral trade institution to RIAs, the thesis emphasizes path-dependence, critical juncture and etc.The thesis thinks that there are two kinds of logics rooted in RIAs policy adopted by U.S. On one hand, the policy mended and made perfect the U.S.'s international institution strategy since it sought to re-institutionalize the international relations on regional level. This would lay the base for new international political economy order leading by U.S. in future. On the other hand, the policy wants to popularize "Washington Consensus", propels and locks in the economic innovation course in other country in order to prevent reversion of innovation. In long term, the economic liberal innovation would inspire domestic political transformation and re-combination of social forces in other country. New social alliance comes into existence and takes part in the process of domestic political change and this will influence a country's foreign policy.There are three cases selected to prove the explanation mentioned above. They are NAFTA, KORUS FTA and MEFTA. As the first RIA signed by U.S., not only did NAFTA signal the virtual breakthrough of regional economic integration in North America, but extended as an example of the new kind of hegemony to the rest of world. The KORUS FTA is the most important bilateral commercial RIA signed by U.S. during the past decades which is of political and economic significance. Proposed by George W. Bush administration, MEFTA is still inherited by Obama government though Bush went out of power in 2008. The reason lies in the fact that importance of MEFTA goes beyond anti-terrorism and MEFTA contains double consideration which includes geopolitical and geo-economic motivation of integrating the whole area into U.S.'s strategic project.The last part of thesis reviews and deepens the former explanation.