This paper provides empirical evidence on the relative impact of the generalized system of preferences, adopted in 1975, and the Caribbean Basin Initiative, adopted in 1983, on the pattern of U.S. imports of manufactured goods from the target areas at the four-digit level in 1984. Imports from Brazil, Mexico, South America, the Caribbean Basin, and all eligible countries are each analyzed. The author provides evidence that existing preferential agreements have failed to offset the bias in U.S. protection against competitive exports from developing countries and explains why one might have predicted such an outcome. Copyright 1987 by MIT Press.

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of intraindustry trade. The authors demonstrat that two-way trade flows occur where conditions are favorable to international specialization consistent with the Stigler-Williamson analysis of the division of labor. The results are inconsistent wit h the prevailing product differentiation-cum-scale economies model of intraindustry trade. In addition, the authors show that intraindustr y trade has a significant impact on protectionist pressures. Exports of closely related products have the effect of mitigating the tariff- raising effects that imports would otherwise exert. Copyright 1987 by University of Chicago Press.