Consent and Trade

In a time of changing trade norms, when free trade seems to be giving way to new kinds of nationalism, some fundamental questions about trade are still not being asked. Is trade consensual or coercive? Is 'free trade' as currently practiced really free? If not, what difference can trade law make in addressing economically oppressive practices that nationalistic trade policies cannot? In this book Garcia offers an examination of trade law's roots in consensual exchange, highlighting the central role of consent in differentiating trade from legally facilitated coercion, exploitation or predation. The book revisits the premise of consensual exchange which underlies the rhetoric of 'free trade', and then examines the social and political conditions that are a necessary part of a more genuine trade law system, in service of the idea that recovering consent in trade law can promote human flourishing on a global scale.

“Advance praise: 'Frank J. Garcia has given us a splendid book. In its insistence that the legitimacy and efficacy of trade law rests on true consent, in its rejection of empty reassurances based on a sterile view of the workings of the market, in its thorough and careful development of its examples, in its hope for a new way of thinking that may help trade contribute to more full and meaningful lives for people around the globe, and in its fundamental decency, this is the kind of economic thinking we have been long awaiting.' James Boyd White, Hart Wright Professor of Law Emeritus and Professor of English Emeritus, University of Michigan”

'Frank J. Garcia has given us a splendid book. In its insistence that the legitimacy and efficacy of trade law rests on true consent, in its rejection of empty reassurances based on a sterile view of the workings of the market, in its thorough and careful development of its examples, in its hope for a new way of thinking that may help trade contribute to more full and meaningful lives for people around the globe, and in its fundamental decency, this is the kind of economic thinking we have been long awaiting.' James Boyd White, Hart Wright Professor of Law Emeritus and Professor of English Emeritus, University of Michigan
'Frank J. Garcia is a leading voice in bringing theories of global justice in contact with the institutions of international trade. His new book Consent and Trade is a remarkable achievement and a must read for anyone interested in understanding why we have to take questions about the fairness of international trade seriously. It is an important book, coming at a time when our settled understandings of how international trade and policy operate are under serious challenge.' John Linarelli, Durham University

Frank J. Garcia is Professor of Law and Dean's Global Fund Scholar at the Boston College Law School, Massachusetts. A Fulbright Scholar, he has lectured widely on globalization and international economic law in Europe, South America and the Asia/Pacific region. Professor Garcia has held various leadership positions within the American Society of International Law, and currently sits on the editorial board of the Journal of International Economic Law, where he is Chief Book Review Editor. He is the author, most recently, of Global Justice and International Economic Law: Three Takes (Cambridge, 2013).

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