British Protectionism and the International Economy: Overseas Commercial Policy in the 1930s

After more than three-quarters of a century of free trade, Britain re-adopted protectionist policies early in the depression of the 1930s. Tim Rooth's comprehensive study examines the forces behind the abandonment of free trade and the way that Britain then used protection to bargain for trade advantages in the markets of her chief suppliers of food and raw materials. The retreat from multilateral trade policies, the growth of protection and the concomitant development of regional economic groupings has obvious parallels with current developments in the world economy.