The transatlantic economy is breaking into two different blocs: on the European side, there is the common market and a treaty calling for a common currency; on the United States side, we have NAFTA and calls for its extension to countries in Latin America. To date, there has been surprisingly little economic analysis of the causes or effects of this development, which is of major historical significance. This volume brings together specialists in trade theory, international finance, and political economy in an attempt to do just that.