Political Economy of US Trade Policy towards China

The trade relationship between China and the USA has become increasingly important to the economies of both countries. The recent trade conflicts and friction between China and the USA constitute obstacles in the way of US—Chinese bilateral trade relationship development, which is of considerable concern to both countries. Through an in‐depth analysis of the political process of US trade policy towards China, the present paper identifies the important determinants of US trade policy towards China. The influence of US trade policy on the trade relationship between the USA and China is assessed and implications for the trade relationship between the USA and China are discussed.     

The Impact of COVID-19 on Chinese trade and production: An empirical analysis of processing trade with Japan and the US

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted international trade, leading countries to grapple with product shortages and firms to experience major supply chain issues. These challenges increased production costs and significantly contributed to lower trade and higher inflation. In this paper, we examine the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese trade through its two main trading partners: Japan and the US. By differentiating products by product type and processing status, we find evidence that products in the middle of the global supply chain were most affected by the pandemic and that the severity of the shock depends on the partner country’s role in the global supply chain. Additionally, we find that Chinese exports are more impacted than Chinese imports, regardless of processing status. These findings are largely consistent with economic theory. Understanding that the effects of global shocks vary by product and country will help guide policies that minimize supply chain disruptions.     

The Evolution and Reshaping of Globalization: A Perspective Based on the Development of Regional Trade Agreements

With the weakening role of the World Trade Organization multilateral trading system, the globalization pattern is moving toward regional economic integration. As a result, the number of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has rapidly increased. New trends in international economics and trade, such as the withdrawal of the US from the Trans‐Pacific Partnership and the trade disputes between the US and China, have revealed the intention of the developed countries represented by the US to reshape the direction of globalization. This paper combines the relevant research conclusions and current stylized facts to examine the evolution and reshaping of globalization. We find that: (i) countries have different attitudes toward the recent round of globalization, which are related to changes in the patterns of income distribution within countries caused by the last round of globalization; and (ii) regional economic development is an effective way to reshape globalization. The self‐strengthening effect of the hub country in the trade network has promoted global RTA expansion.     

The Renminbi as a Trading Currency: Evidence from Selected Countries Participating in the Belt and Road Initiative

This paper investigates the effects of the renminbi (RMB) exchange rate on trade prices and volumes in selected Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries in comparison with the effects of the US dollar. The stylized facts show that the RMB is underused in bilateral trade with selected BRI countries where intermediate goods dominate. By estimating the level of exchange rate pass‐through and trade volume elasticity, we find that the RMB is significantly correlated with the volume of imports in the sample countries, predicted by the producer currency pricing (PCP) paradigm. We also regroup intermediate and final goods between China and the BRI countries. The evidence shows that dollar fluctuation affects export volumes, reflecting the role of the US as a final goods destination, whereas the RMB exerts a significant impact on the volume of intermediate goods imported from China to the sample countries due to China's important position in global value chains.     

New Insights on US Aggregate and State Level Trade with the China Region

Aggregate trade data with breakdown into related and non‐related party components show that US multinational enterprises use different trading strategies in the China region relative to other countries. US trade with the China region in 2002–2007 is characterized by arm's‐length transactions. State‐level trade data show great variability in state engagement with the region through trade: exports to the region range from 1 to 28 percent of state exports. In addition, compared to exports to other countries, exports to the region are highly concentrated. At the extreme, for some states, 96–98 percent of exports to the region are computer and electronic products. Finally, gravity regressions show that state exports to Hong Kong are positively associated with the relative size of the Hong Kong‐born population in the states. There is no evidence that stricter labor regimes lead to lower state exports.     

COVID-19 and trade: Simulated asymmetric loss

This paper uses 2018 data as a benchmark to build a numerical 26-country global general equilibrium model with trade cost and an endogenous trade imbalance structure. We assume that COVID-19 will increase the trade cost between countries and decrease labor supply in production. We use China’s trade data from January to April in 2020 to calibrate the influence level parameters and then simulate the trade effects of COVID-19 in China, the EU, the US, and the world. Our simulation results find that all countries’ trade and exports will be significantly hurt by the pandemic. Due to the trade diversion effect and the price growth effect, some countries will see an increase in import trade. Comparatively, the pandemic has the most negative impact on global trade, followed by the EU, the US, and China. As the pandemic deepens, the negative impact on trade will increase. The worldwide pandemic has the most significant impact on US trade, with an effect about 1.5 times that of the average world effect.     

Empirical Analysis of the Structure of Sino-US Agricultural Trade

This paper empirically analyzes the structure of agricultural trade between China and the USA from 1996 to 2005, using different trade indexes such as the Grubel—Lloyd Index, the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index, the Finger—Kreinin Similitude Index and the Export Diversification Index, with a focus on the issues impeding Sino‐US agricultural trade. We found that over the period of 1996 to 2005, inter‐industry trade outweighed intra‐industry trade in Sino‐US agricultural trade, and that bilateral trade was more complementary than competitive. At the same time, China's agricultural exports were more diversified than USA exports, but China's degree of diversification steadily declined during the sample period. The findings indicate that there exists great potential for further development of agricultural trade between China and the USA, and that positive and effective trade policies will result in maximization of potential agricultural trade development and will bring forth mutual benefits to both countries.     

Vertical Specialization and Trade Growth in Northeast Asia

As the global economy has become further integrated, the international production chain has become more sophisticated, with diversified stages of production located in different countries. Economic theorists have argued that the fragmentation of the global production chain is partly attributable to the high growth in international trade over the past several decades. In this study, we examine vertical specialization in China, Japan and Korea, and its contribution to these nations' trade. Using a multilevel model, it is illustrated that vertical specialization has encouraged increases in trade among all three countries. In particular, China's outcome is remarkable considering how recently it became a member of the WTO.     

中国摆脱依附式发展与中美贸易冲突根源

中美贸易冲突根源的探寻不应停留在国际贸易层次,而是应该从当下的国际分工结构和国际生产关系中去寻找。作者从马克思主义国际政治经济学角度出发,认为国际分工及其相应的国际生产关系是决定国家在世界舞台上政治经济地位与利益的基础。发展中国家在传统的国际分工结构中长期处于外围、在生产关系上处于依附地位的根本原因在于生产力落后,特别是技术水平落后。20世纪70年代以来,全球生产链作为一种新的国际生产组织方式逐渐形成并发展起来。在这一新的国际分工生产中,发展中国家的依附地位并没有改变,但是具体的依附形式不同于历史上的依附形式,呈现出“技术—市场”依附的特点。在这种新的依附形式下,广大参与全球生产链分工的发展中国家只能从中获得微薄的附加值,进而形成一种依附式发展,而西方发达国家的跨国企业却能够主导全球生产进程并从中获得高额的附加值。中国要实现现代化强国的目标,就需要摆脱依附式发展模式,实现在全球生产链中从中低端向中高端的攀升。近年来中国在发展高新技术产业和提升世界市场地位方面的努力及其获得的相应成就触动了美国作为现有国际分工主导者的既得利益。为了维护其霸权的经济基础,美国不惜发起贸易战以遏制中国的发展有其必然性。中国摆脱依附式发展以及美国相对衰落所导致的国际分工格局现实和潜在的变化正是中美贸易冲突爆发的根源所在。     

US Presidential Election 2008： Policy Implications for US-China Trade and Investment

The next US president will be elected in November 2008. Since the relative stabilization of war in Iraq, the economy has become the national priority of the 2008 US election. In their campaign efforts, the Democrats have enjoyed greater momentum than the Republicans, in terms of polls, fund-raising and corporate support. After the Bush era, the next president will seek to restore America＇s leadership and to engage in multilateralism. Since the 1990s, China has been the most rapidly-growing US export destination. In terms of US-Shinese trade and investment, the next president, ira Democrat, will, among other issues, review trade agreements and has pledged to co-sponsor legislation that would allow US companies to seek anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports based on the perceived undervaluation of the Chinese currency. If a Republican, the next president will support global integration and oppose protectionist measures. The Democratic Congress is likely to oppose Republican policies in general and free trade policies in particular. Both scenarios imply increasing pressure on US-Chinese trade and investment relationships. Because these two nations now account for almost half of global growth, the state of the futureUS-Chinese bilateral relationship has worldwide implications.     

当前全球贸易失衡的机制及中国的地位分析

美国的巨额贸易逆差与中国的巨额贸易顺差是当前全球贸易失衡的突出表现,更是以美国为代表的发达国家与以中国为代表的新兴市场经济体在当前世界经济格局及全球生产分工体系中的地位的集中体现,是"美国贸易模式"与"东亚贸易模式"冲突的必然结果。迅速发展的中国是当前世界经济格局中的重要力量,但中国在贸易商品结构、贸易流向结构及贸易利得分配格局中的表现表明,中国在当前全球贸易失衡中充当了贸易模式冲突的突破口的作用,国民福利不增反减,中国应该深刻解读"东亚贸易模式"对中国经济发展的作用,探索更科学、优化的外向型经济发展之路,引导世界经济向更均衡、更健康的方向发展。     

Free trade and income redistribution in some developing and newly industrialized countries

A competitive general equilibrium model of production is specified and the long-run comparative static elasticities of changing prices on factor prices are examined in eight developing and newly industrialized countries. Unskilled labor in these developing countries stands to gain from a program of global free trade characterized by increased manufacturing exports and falling prices of imported business services, while capital owners and skilled labor lose. Results are contrasted with developed countries, the United States in particular, where unskilled labor will lose while capital and skilled labor enjoy gains with global free trade.     

Impact of RMB Appreciation on Trade and Labor Markets of China and the USA： A Multi-country Comparative General Equilibrium Model

Since the recent economic crisis, the undervaluation of China's exchange rate has been a focus in the debate on the global policy mix. Using a non‐competitive input–output table, we establish a comparative‐static general equilibrium model to simulate the impact of real exchange rate changes on Sino–US trade and labor markets. The simulation shows that the impacts of a 10‐percent RMB revaluation on the trade surplus of China and the labor market of the USA are more modest than is generally perceived, and the negative impact on the output of the non‐processing industry in China is more significant than that on the processing industry. The Sino–US trade imbalance will continue to deteriorate, China's non‐processing trade surplus will decline and the processing trade will increase, with the combined effect being small. For the USA, labor‐intensive goods imported from China will shift to different Asian countries instead of transferring back to the US market. The simulation results indicate that the impacts of an RMB revaluation on both Chinese and US labor markets would be limited.     

TPP谈判及其对中美贸易的影响

由于多哈回合停滞不前和全球贸易结构尤其是服务贸易结构趋向高级化,加上美国的强力推动,全球贸易规则不断演进,TPP谈判的影响力越来越大。TPP谈判涵盖的内容非常广泛,不仅要求开放服务业,还关注贸易背后的诸如劳工和环境标准的问题,其谈判的分歧取决于谈判各方在多大程度上接受美国的贸易规则。一旦TPP施行,美国服务贸易的优势将得到增强,并且美国贸易商将获得规则上的优势。而对于中国而言,TPP的施行将给中国出口带来负面影响,但中国可以选择深度开放、加强双边或区域经济合作以及利用上海自贸区对TPP规则进行融合等方式来应对TPP的影响。     

China's domestic trade during the Treaty-Port Era

We employ a new, commodity-level dataset on the flow of goods between fifteen major treaty ports to estimate a general-equilibrium trade model for China in the late Qing era. The distribution of welfare effects depends critically on each port's productivity, China's economic geography as it influences trade costs, as well as the degree of regional diversity in production, which increases the potential gains from trade. We utilize this framework to quantify the size and distribution of welfare effects resulting from new technology and lower trade costs that emerged during the Treaty-Port Era. Our results suggest that the new trade with foreign countries led to significant changes in domestic trade relationships. There was a limit to how much could be gained through increased domestic trade, however, because differences in productivity across regions were relatively low.     

WTO体制下加工贸易的发展与产业结构优化

随着ＷＴＯ规则的实施和全球生产转移效应的日益显现，高新技术产业加工贸易蔚然兴起，加工贸易对发展中国家产业升级的促进作用相应增强。如何利用加工贸易政策性较强的特性，采用积极而又适宜的贸易政策，充分发挥其对产业结构的优化作用，培育起动态化的比较优势，是值得我们深入探讨的问题。     

Friendly Fire? The Impact of US Antidumping Enforcement on US Exporters

While there has been considerable interest in recent years in the role of macroeconomic determinants of antidumping actions by the United States and other traditional users, on the one hand, and the determinants of the growing global usage of this trade policy instrument, on the other, there has to date been no systematic exploration of the motivations for the significant number of foreign antidumping cases filed against US exporters. Several observers have remarked that the growing number of foreign users of antidumping might threaten US exporters, but the determinants of these actions have not been examined. That is the purpose of this study. We find that these actions are in part explained by macroeconomic forces and as a response to US export superiority in particular sectors, however a significant role (and larger than found for global antidumping more generally) is played by retaliation for US trade policy actions. JEL no.  F13     

如何应对美国贸易保护主义——论东亚集体行动的可选择性

本文考查了美国贸易政策的变迁和中国对美贸易顺差的根源,指出在美国继续把反倾销税和非贸易壁垒作为限制某些商品进口的重要手段的情况下,包括中国在内的东亚各国出口前景,普遍存在不确定感。未来中国和东亚各国(地区)采取集体行动方式应对美国的贸易保护主义和贸易霸权,是一种具有可行性的选择。     

数字贸易发展的经济效应与推进方略

作为数字化时代的新型贸易模式,数字贸易将对未来的贸易方式、贸易产品、贸易参与者、贸易规则产生深远影响,具有重要的经济学理论价值和现实价值。从微观市场主体、市场效率以及全球贸易发展新动力等角度来看,数字贸易都能衍生出积极的经济效应,有望进一步提高贸易参与者的福利。但也正因为其全新的生产和交换属性,数字贸易的发展面临诸多制约因素,特别是数字贸易国际规则体系还未有效构建,各国数字贸易监管规则和重点也不同。鉴于此,我国需要从国家层面提高数字贸易战略地位,探索形成数字贸易发展新理念,并着力推动在WTO框架下完善数字贸易规则体系,在双边和区域贸易协定中加强数字贸易规则谈判,同时加快完善数字基础设施建设,探索数字贸易背景下新的产品分类体系。     

INTRAINDUSTRY SPECIALIZATION AND THE UNITED STATES–CENTRAL AMERICA–DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

This paper examines changes in intraindustry specialization indicators over the 1992–2004 period to assess the potential for structural adjustment problems that may arise in the United States with growth in trade resulting from the United States–Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA‐DR) between the United States and six Central American countries—Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. CAFTA‐DR will expand market access for US exporters. Few US industries are likely to encounter structural adjustment problems. Given the relatively large size of the US economy, and the small number of industries that face potential adjustment pressures, the United States should have liberalized all trade immediately. When potential adjustment pressures are indicated, long tariff phaseouts, complex rules of origin, and import safeguards are used to delay factor adjustments in import‐sensitive industries.