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13 Cornell Int'l L.J. 205 (1980)
Fair or Unfair Trade: Does it Matter

handle is hein.journals/cintl13 and id is 213 raw text is: FAIR OR UNFAIR TRADE: DOES IT MATTER?* Andreas F Lowenfeld t Like almost everyone else interested in an open trading system, I was delighted when the Tokyo Round finally came off. Given all the tugs and pulls, and the dangers that threatened on every side, it was in the end more important that the seventh Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTN) could be called a success than that any given issue-whether safeguards or subsidies or government procurement or even cheese--came out right. I want to start, therefore, by saluting those who made it possible, and in particular Ambassador Robert Strauss, who proved that skill at deal- making is more important than an appreciation of the fine points of the law of GATT or the economics of international trade. I make these initial remarks not only because I believe them to be true and worth recognizing, but because I am anxious that what follows will not be regarded as churlish. I do think the Tokyo Round was worthwhile, indeed essential. I do not think any country, including the United States, gave more than it got. I am afraid, however, that the fundamental problems of our mature industrial societies were deflected rather than squarely addressed in the MTN, and I am concerned that excessive expectations will lead to excessive let-down, or excessive cynicism. I I believe the Tokyo Round was sold to all the participants-and cer- tainly to Americans-as a way of restoring fairness in international trade. Of course we can and want to compete, went the slogan. What needs to be done is to separate fair and unfair trade, and then we can all benefit from the advantages of an open market system, from specialization, com- parative advantage, and rational allocation of resources. The analogy, in a * Text based on a speech delivered by Professor Lowenfeld at a symposium at Cornell Law School entitled LIBERAL TRADE AFTER THE TOKYO ROUND, February 22-23, 1980. t Professor of Law, New York University School of Law. A.B. 1951, LL.B. 1955, Harvard University.

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