The 1986 edition of Canada Among Nations chronicles the momentous, ongoing debates concerning free trade negotiations with the United States. From the start, the free trade talks were bedevilled by a flurry of protectionist moves in the U.S., the most inflammatory involving a proposed duty on Canadian softwood lumber. In the face of American belligerence, the Mulroney government appeared indecisive—on the lumber issue it insisted that it would neither negotiate nor impose an export tax, and then did both. In addition to free trade, Canada Among Nations treats issues including Canada's foreign policy, its economic situation, realations with the third world, and response to contemporary arms-control proposals.