Why Politicians Lie About Trade
- Author Dmitry Grozoubinski
- Narrator Christopher Tester
- Publisher Canbury Press Ltd
- Publish Date 16 April 2025
- Run Time 8 hours and 33 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Geopolitics, International trade and commerce.
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What to expect
FT Recommended Book on Global Trade War
'It succeeds both in explaining how global trade works and how it affects things many voters actually care about' – Financial Times
'My hero on this is Dmitry Grozoubinski, who has written the most beautiful book ' – author Rory Stewart
Why Politicians Lie About Trade reveals how international trade really works – the roadblock tariffs, the hard-won deals and the damaging disputes.
Written with the expectation that the US would trigger a global trade war, this book takes readers on a revealing and sometimes funny tour of the shadowy workings of the $32 trillion-a-year international business that puts goods on our shelves and food in our mouths.
Using clear writing and lively case studies, former trade negotiator Dmitry Grozoubinski reveals the underlying political and geographical forces that shape the impact of cross-border trade on food, jobs, gender, conflict, climate change and many other issues.
And he reveals what politicians cover up about the system – and why it matters to your world.
In short, Why Politicians Lie About Trade contains everything you need to know about the tricky network of imports and exports that rules our world – and is an ideal companion to popular business books like How to Lie With Statistics, Taxtopia and Freakonomics.
Heayweight publications such as the Financial Times and the World Trade Review have endorsed the book, along with popular authors Ian Dunt, James O'Brien and Rory Stewart.
Reviews
'Despite being an entertaining read, his book is no joke. Structured in two parts, it succeeds both in explaining how global trade works and in illustrating how the rather rarefied topic of international trade policy affects things many voters actually care about: jobs, national security, climate change, and so on. Given how protectionism is increasingly touted as a simple solution to complex social and economic strains, it is also excellently timed.' Felix Martin, Financial Times
'You will come out of it far more knowledgeable than you went in, and shielded from some of the more egregious deceit politicians want to inflict on you. You'll also laugh out loud.' Ian Dunt, author of How Westminster Works
'Written by a former trade negotiator who has trained many British diplomats, this book is authoritative, yet – and here's the strange part – actually fun to read. Dmitry Grozoubinski has a rare knack for explaining complex information in an accessible and light-hearted way.' Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics
'Writing a 300-page book on international trade policy issues in a way that is not only accessible but also entertaining would be a serious challenge for most authors. Dmitry Grozoubinski's new book rises to that challenge.' Chris Horseman, Bordelex
'Much of the book's strength lies in its language. It largely avoids technical and academic-style terminology, and the content is presented with a wry and sometimes mischievous sense of humour. This approach makes even the most arcane and obscure parts of the book engaging.' Justin Brown, Lowy Institute
'Enraging & enlightening in equal measure. And the measure is absolutely enormous.' James O'Brien, author of How They Broke Britain
Recommended by The Rest is Politics podcast.
Top of the FT's Recommended Books on the Global Trading Crisis
Buy the audiobook, sit back and start hearing the engaging story of how global trade works
Critics Review
SUMMARY
The bottom line is that this book is good at what it sets out to do. It is an accessible account of the trade policy world with no howlers and with a very amusing turn of phrase. Grozoubinski – a former negotiator turned educator and commentator – is a good communicator and the one liners and outrageous analogies should help to keep the non-expert engaged and even, possibly, remembering some of the arguments. The book is not written for the regular readers of this journal but for their friends in the ‘real world’. Inevitably writing for this audience requires selectivity and simplification and most professionals would quibble in places – certainly most academics would, because that is the way their minds work. But overall, it does the job pretty well.
SUMMARY
Despite being an entertaining read, his book is no joke. Structured in two parts, it succeeds both in explaining how global trade works and in illustrating how the rather rarefied topic of international trade policy affects things many voters actually care about: jobs, national security, climate change, and so on. Given how protectionism is increasingly touted as a simple solution to complex social and economic strains, it is also excellently timed.
SUMMARY
For some time, there has been a clear gap in the market for a guide to trade policy to help those with an interest to gain a better understanding of this important field and enable them to engage more actively in trade policy debates. Dmitry Grozoubinski’s Why Politicians Lie About Trade fits the bill admirably.
Much of the book’s strength lies in its language. It largely avoids technical and academic-style terminology, and the content is presented with a wry and sometimes mischievous sense of humour. This approach makes even the most arcane and obscure parts of the book engaging.
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