“International Trade Committee” BUS610-1304C-02 Unit 3 Discussion Board 11/04/2013 When is international trade an opportunity for workers? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development seeks to promote democracy and free-market policies to help benefit workers around the world in different member states which include countries in the United Nations. It publishes a variety of statistics and research on subjects such as good government, trade, education, employment, and technology, and can point to considerable achievements in the trade and economic fields over the last thirty years (Oecd, 2007). They show that since 2000, there has been a steady decline in the share of OECD imports and exports coming from other OECD countries. Imports from OECD countries accounted for about 74% of total world imports in 2000. By 2010, this percentage fell to 62%. A large transition occurred in international trade between OECD countries and China. In 2000, China supplied only 5% of total OECD imports but by 2010 this share had risen to 12%. Trade is always beneficial to workers; it seems the major question is “where will the work will be done?” International trade benefits not only big businesses, but small to mid-size businesses as well. Because small to mid-size businesses are more flexible they are able to maneuver better within the competitive landscape of global trade, and are therefore more adaptable than larger companies. Some of the other benefits of international trade include increased sales and a much broader customer base. The benefits of international trade are perhaps best pointed out by Kanlian (2006), as she interviews one executive- “we see each new market as a great place to build growth, try products and learn trends...they often make us a better company through the questions they ask and observations they make, it’s like having a fresh set of eyes on your business every time you open a new market.” When is international trade a threat to workers? International trade can be a threat in both developing countries and developed countries. Developing countries purposively ensure low environmental standards and choose to be pollution sanctuaries for international businesses. Developed countries seek to impose global standards such as ISO 9000 certifications, or face trade sanctions or countervailing measures. Workers in developing countries face restricted market access, distorted export earnings, expenditures on adapting new standards and technologies according to Aditya (2013). Aditya continues to point out that child labor, or “social dumping” still occurs in developing nations because of weak political and social rights, and lax working regulations and conditions. This is perhaps the biggest threat international trade poses to workers is through allowing children to work to cut costs. One of the threats international trade poses to developed countries is outsourcing. As Munch points out (2010), “outsourcing in the form of capital outmigration results in a shift of the production of the least skill-intensive components from the developed country to a low-wage, less developed country.” This results in a decrease for the demand of low-skilled workers in the developed country. What are some of the major challenges confronting the international trading system? One of the major challenges the international trading system faces is finding a level ground for different economies to interact in. Because of the comparative advantage developed nations have in terms of capital and resources, developing nations are forced to uses substandard protocols which can endanger the environment through pollution and dirty exports, and jeopardize the lives of younger workers who should be in school learning a trade instead of working in a factory, helping to perpetuate this unfortunate set of events. The major challenge, in this instance is diplomacy. Diplomacy by world leaders which allows nations to trade fairly and evenly without placing any workers in risk, and maintaining the same qualities and standards as one would expect from products they would use for themselves.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 20:21:51 +0000
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