Options in foreign economic relations for Central and Eastern Europe

Following the collapse of the CMEA, the foreign trade of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe declined drastically with dire consequences for output, incomes and employment in these countries. What options do the former CMEA members have for revitalizing their foreign trade? What impediments will have to be surmounted in each case?     

International consequences of US trade policy

Data on the US economy and the political climate in the USA make it probable that the trend towards trade restrictions in the United States will further intensify. What would be the consequences of an escalation of trade conflicts among the western economies? How might an internationally co-ordinated strategy to avoid such a development look?     

Globalisation,trade, and growth: A macroeconomic perspective

On the basis of economic theory, what effects can globalisation be expected to have on trade and growth? Does the empirical evidence support this? What developments will the next phase of globalisation bring?     

A GRAVITY STUDY OF THE PROPOSED CHINA-ASEAN FREE TRADE AREA

The proposed China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) has drawn much interest both at the regional and international level. This interest is justified given the recent surge in regional trade agreements. The implications the FTA will have for the less developed economies of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (the CLMV economies) are of concern. How would trade between the integrating area and the rest of the world be affected? Will there be net trade creation or net trade diversion effects? What trading partners are likely to loose or gain following formation of the FTA in 2010? These are some of the issues that this article addresses by way of the Gravity Model of trade.     

Africa's marginalisation in world trade

Since 1975 the Lomé Conventions have granted trade preferences to African exports to the European Union, Africa's main trading partner. The liberalisation of trade foreseen by the Uruguay Round means that these preferences will disappear, leading to net reductions in African exports. What lessons should the countries of Africa draw from this?     

Unstable exchange rates and trade policy

Floating exchange rates affect two basic principles of GATT, namely: stability of trade policy conditions and reciprocity of trade concessions. What is the relevance of the changes to foreign trade? What possibilities for surmounting the new problems exist in the realm of external economic relations?     

金融危机下中国对外贸易发展战略思考

国际金融危机对全球经济格局的影响是广泛而深刻的。究竟如何判断危机后全球经济格局的变动趋势?尤其是它对外贸依存度高达70%的我国外贸来说将会带来怎样的影响?本文针对当前中国外贸出口锐减、企业倒闭、失业率大增、贸易壁垒高企等方面进行了分析,并从外贸发展方式的转变、吸引外商投资解决就业问题、增强外贸企业自主创新能力等多方面提出了政策建议。     

贸易战还是货币战:论跨境贸易人民币结算

从2009年7月1日,将上海、广州、深圳、珠海和东莞作为跨境贸易人民币结算的境内试点区.港澳地区和东盟国家作为境外试点区到2010年6月以来,境内试点地区已扩大至全国20个省,境外地城扩展到所有国家和地区,跨境交易人民币结算试点业务扩大至所有经常项下.至此,中国也迈上了主权货币国际化之路.那么为什么国家都热衷于推动本国货币成为世界结算货币,进而取得国际货币发行权呢?中国选择的这条路又有着怎样的前景呢?我将从贸易战与货币战的角度来解答.     

Growth Potential for Maritime Trade and Ports in Europe

Global economic development in recent decades has been characterised by a rapidly progressing intensification in world trade and the international division of labour. As a result of the expansive development of international merchandise trade, cargo shipping has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors. The progressive global integration processes, the future reduction in trade barriers and the expected increase in prosperity in numerous regions of the world will also call for a marked expansion in world trade and cargo shipping. This designates maritime logistics as an economic sector with favourable perspectives for development. What growth rates can be expected for EU maritime trade? And what impact will these have on Europe’s ports? This article is based on the HWWI and Berenberg Bank study “Maritime Trade and Transport Logistics” published in 2007.     

同舟共济 战“疫”到底

2019年12月,湖北省武汉市发现不明原因的病毒性肺炎病例。之后,全国多地出现新型冠状病毒感染的肺炎疫情。疫情发生后,中央、国务院高度重视,对防控工作作出一系列重要部署,迅速成立中央应对新型冠状病毒感染肺炎疫情工作领导小组,指挥全国抗击疫情战役。中国内地31个省区市全部启动突发公共卫生事件一级响应,这场抗击疫情的战役进入最高等级。     

The EC-US trade conflict over film and television software

During the recent Uruguay Round film and television software was a major field of conflict between the United States and the European Community, and it is easy to predict that this will continue for the rest of the decade. Are the markets for film and television software really dominated by American productions? What are the key factors in international trade and competitiveness? Which elements explain American success in audiovisual production? Are the European trade barriers, such as television quotas and subsidies, effective with respect to cultural or economic objectives?     

The foreign trade of the OPEC states

The changes brought about in the OPEC states by their oil are reflected most clearly in the foreign trade¹. How did their trade develop during the present decade? What will be the outcome of the latest drastic oil price increases?     

产品内分工与产品内贸易——一个基于汽车产品的实例分析

国际分工由产业间深入到产业内并进一步深入到产品内已是一个不争的事实,尤其是在汽车、电子、服装等制造业产业。经典贸易理论以整体终端产品作为潜在的分析假设,因此难以担负解释国际贸易现状的重任。那么,什么是产品内分工和产品内贸易,在该领域的研究现状如何,怎样分析产品内分工的组织或权力结构?本文将以汽车为例,针对以上问题作出初步的回答。     

中美贸易摩擦对异质性企业的影响——基于中国A股上市公司的事件研究

随着中国对外贸易的蓬勃发展,双边贸易摩擦事件也日益增多,这种外部贸易摩擦究竟会对中国微观主体产生怎样的影响?基于中美贸易摩擦的背景,以中国A股上市公司为研究样本,采用事件研究法实证检验外部贸易摩擦的微观主体效应。研究结果表明,中美贸易摩擦对生产率、规模、要素密集度、所有权属性不同的企业的影响均存在显著差异,具体而言,中美贸易摩擦对高生产率企业、大规模企业、低劳动密集度企业与民营企业的影响相对更大。进一步研究发现,采用不同企业异质性衡量指标的检验结果最终均可归结于企业全要素生产率,即全要素生产率是企业在中美贸易摩擦中所受影响程度大小的决定因素,而且生产率越高的企业所受影响程度越大。该研究结果有助于理解中美贸易摩擦的微观主体效应,从而为中国更好地解决外部贸易摩擦与促进国内经济转型提供借鉴和参考。     

Regional development of German foreign trade in the 1990s

With a double-digit growth rate, Germany's export sector was again very successful last year. While the industrialised countries continue to be Germany's main trading partners, growth in the past few years has been stimulated by trade with the booming regions of Southeast Asia and Central and Eastern Europe as well as with Central and South America. The current crisis in Southeast Asia has led to an abrupt slowdown in the region's economic development. What will be the consequences for global trade in general and for German foreign trade in particular?     

What the uruguay round means to service firms

What are the implications of the GATT talks on liberalizing trade in services? Here we examine six typical concerns of service firms as they go abroad and what the impact will be, if any, of the talks in Geneva on each situation.     

The integration of Japan into the world economy and its meaning for Germany

Japan is currently still characterized by a low degree of import integration in the field of finished products. What are the reasons behind this? What can be done to remove the existing trade imbalances vis-à-vis Western industrialized countries? What, on the other hand, can be learned from the Japanese?     

US trade policy in an unbalanced world economy

Both the national as well as the international debate on US trade policy are overshadowed, and strongly influenced, by the large external inbalances of major trading nations. What do these disequilibria mean for US trade policy? Moreover, is the USA losing comparative advantage in agriculture and high-technology manufacturing? Do industrial policies in other countries distort American trade?     

International Enterprises and Trade Unions

A “shipping war” has broken out between two friendly neighbouring countries: Estonia (a rather poor land; liberated of Soviet occupation in 1991), and Finland (a wealthy one; independent since 1918). Led by their trade union the Finnish dockers boycott Estonian ships demanding for Estonian sailors the salary in the same range as that is in wealthy West-European countries. Estonian Sailors' Union finds that such a war is not for their better work-conditions but against their working possibilities: the cheap labour force is the only possibility for a poor country to entice foreign investments in it. No matter how the “shipping war” will be solved – the problem will remain. This is the problem of two opposites – cheap labour force of poor countries and expensive one of wealthy countries –, and international enterprises standing between them. Could such an enterprise survive without using the cheap labour force? And if it could, how could the poor countries survive then? Could there be found a clear unambiguous ethical solution? What ought to be the role of trade unions in such international business conflicts?     

The drugs economy and anti-drug policy in developing countries

The drugs economy has now developed into a major factor in many developing countries. What effects on the economies of the countries concerned do drugs production and the drugs trade have? How should the prospects of success for substitution policies be judged? What strategy to curb the demand for drugs in the industrial countries might carry the promise of success?