Trade within the EU has been freed, but European and foreign barriers still restrict trade with the rest of the world. Rapid growth in East Asia, and liberalization in Eastern Europe, pose facinating and urgent questions for West European policy. Some of the questions this book setsa out to answer are: why do countries trade?; who gains?; who could lose?; why are some goods exported, others imported, and yet others both exported and imported?; how does imperfect competition modify trade?; what impact do regional trade barriers have?; why do they exist?; what effects do regional trade blocs have, and is their enlargement a cause for worry?; what is the significance of increasing capital mobility across frontiers?; what are the links between trade and growth, and trade and employment?; and how do environmental considerations affect trade and trade policy? These are some of the questions this book sets out to answer.