This work investigates the decline of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the subsequent challenges facing the global trading system. Clyde Prestowitz, a former trade negotiator, utilizes his extensive background in international policy to argue that the existing framework of global trade agreements failed to account for the rise of state-led capitalism and industrial policy. He posits that the reliance on free-trade orthodoxy left the United States vulnerable to strategic economic competition from abroad.

The text provides a critical, protectionist-leaning perspective on the limitations of post-war trade liberalization. Its analysis is rooted in the specific geopolitical and economic tensions of the early 1990s, offering a specialized look at the transition toward modern global trade regimes.