This book controversially argues that the global political economy is hardening into distinct regional blocs, which threatens American prosperity and dangers US security by dividing the globe along economic and political lines.

America's Trade Follies controversially challenges the myths of the American trade deficit and the consequences of current US trade policy. It argues that the global political economy is hardening into regional blocs, in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Asia Pacific, which are organized around a powerful economic base and are suspicious of each other. Bernard K. Gordon's masterful analysis shows that this division into regional blocs fundamentally threatens American prosperity by limiting US access to the world's richest and largest markets, and endangers US security by dividing the globe along economic and political lines. It is vital, he argues, that US trade policy recognizes that support for regional trade blocs is an act of political folly in a globalized economy. Provocative, original and stimulating, this book is essential reading for all those interested in American politics, trade and international political economy.

1. America's folly: The rise of regional blocs 2. Americas's trade in global context 3. Regionalism in Europe: A model for the past or the future 4. The Western Hemisphere: Americas blurred vision 5. Will the geese fly? 6. The high price of folly