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• This paper aims to explore China's global value chain (GVC) position in relation to those of EU member states, from both total trade value and value-added perspectives. • The paper attempts to research the feasibility of the construction of a China-EU free trade agreement (FTA) by decomposing trade value-added and mapping regional trade network. • The paper endeavours to address the concerns over negative impacts of the label 'Made in China' on the EU economy from the value-added perspective. As the largest trading partner of China, the European Union (the EU) has maintained a close economic and trade relationship with China over the past several decades. However, the deepening of interdependence between them also brought about concerns over negative impacts of the label 'Made in China' on the EU economy. This paper analyses China's global value chain (GVC) position in relation to those of EU member states, followed by a comparative assessment of trade balance and industrial competitiveness between them from both total trade value and value-added perspectives. Our empirical study provides some interesting findings. First, China's trade surplus with and industrial competitiveness over EU member states have been overestimated. In addition, changing the value-chain pattern can be the long-term driving force for a China-EU free trade agreement (FTA). Finally, this paper puts forward some suggestions for when and how FTA negotiations can be initiated, mainly from Chinese perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The free exchange, trade or catira is still an important form of circulation of goods in various communities of Brazil. However, its practitioners and all practical knowledge are still marginalized in management studies, under the justification that these practitioners would be amateurs, devoid of rationality and technical knowledge. This paper analyzes the identity construction of Brazilian catireiros to understand what types of rationality guide their trading practices. To this end, we interviewed 31 traders currently residing in Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba regions, and the data collected were analyzed through French Discourse Analysis. The research pointed out that catireiros initially sought to identify and distinguish themselves from others using nouns, hence demonstrating who they are. Subsequently, the respondents used verbs that characterize their everyday catira practices, hence demonstrating what they are. In this sense, actions such as establishing contacts, getting to know people, negotiating, and understanding the market are some practices that constitute, (re)construct, and materialize the daily identities of such workers. It is also important to highlight that catireiros can also exercise different types of rationalities in different social contexts and although many have not achieved higher education, they should not have their trading practices delegitimized by the academia, since it is from these practices that they live, raise their families, and expand their business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most prominent trends in Latin America in the 2000s has been the proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) across the Pacific basin. Beginning with the path-breaking Chile-Korea FTA in 2004 up to the Costa Rica-Singapore FTA in 2013, the past decade has seen the negotiation of twenty-two cross-Pacific accords. China, too, has jumped on to the cross-Pacific FTA bandwagon, including its negotiation of separate bilateral FTAs with Chile (2006), Peru (2009), and Costa Rica (2011). This paper analyzes the origins, content, and preliminary outcomes of these three China-Latin America FTAs. The findings are threefold: 1) in contrast with other cross-Pacific FTAs, which include at least one developed country, the three FTAs analyzed in this paper constitute "south-south" FTAs; yet' in contrast with other south-south FTAs, these three China-Latin America accords approximate WTO+ standards vis-a-vis the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its new trade agenda (services, investment, and intellectual property rights); 2) although the motives for negotiating these developingdeveloping country accords varied, on the part of China and the countries themselves, this did not disrupt the march toward WTO+ status; and 3) while all three of these FTAs elude standard theoretical explanations for the negotiation of bilateral FTAs, the three Latin American countries do share similar reform trajectories and institutional affinities, which sheds light on the decision and capacity of each to negotiate a bilateral FTA with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commodity trading is typically organized hierarchically: Large‐scale trade takes place at the global price system while individuals trade at local price systems within their countries. Agencies or trading houses establish the link between these different market places. In this paper, we devise a framework to study this type of hierarchical trade. We identify the free trade and the autarky equilibrium as polar cases. We show that no other two‐stage market equilibria exist if the commodity space is two‐dimensional. An example demonstrates that other, so‐called intermediate equilibria exist for three‐dimensional commodity spaces. We then provide an explicit construction of special classes of intermediate equilibria. Moreover, we study the consequences when some countries control the agency that organizes trade at the global level and we analyze the role of international goods arbitrage. Finally, we show that profit‐maximizing agencies may not promote free trade outcomes. (JEL D43, D50, F10) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the current position of the Russian Federation in the global market of agricultural products and foodstuffs with the accent on the comparative advantage of Russian agricultural exports in relation to specific regions and states. The key purpose of the research is to classify the most significant changes in the structure of Russian agricultural exports. The results show that the structure of Russian trade is changing continuously and evolving along with the process of economic transformation and trade liberalization. Exports become less diversified and are concentrated in a few segments. From the perspective of comparative advantage, cereals, fish and vegetable oils are the segments of Russian exports which become more significant. The comparative advantages of Russian exports are strengthening mostly in the case of African, Asian and CIS countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyse data on 523 commercial French agents established in Mexico that were registered in the "Indicateur General de l'Industrie et du Commerce Francais pour l'exportation et l'importation", published in Paris since 1892 by Engineer and Businessman F. Bianconi. Two consular reports from 1892-1893 were filed and secured by descendants of Honorary Consul of the French Legation in Puebla. One of the main topics discussed in this paper is the fact that "Free-Trade Imperialism" by French Businessmen was the result of regional and national capital accumulation and social and political networks of these residents inside Mexico, than an active foreign French imperialist policy as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the present day globalization context there are three Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in which the labor issues forma part of the Labor Cooperation Agreement (LCA), accompanied by a text that contains "labor principles" : the FTA of North America with its ACLAN, the Canada-Chile FTA with its ACLCC, and the FTA of Canada and Costa Rica with its ACLCCR. There are also two FTAs in which no labor agreement is incorporated: the United States and Chile (FTAEUCHI), and the USA, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic (FTAEUACARD). In this paper the purposes, principles and labor agreements in these FTA and LCA were analyzed, interrelating them with the principles and norms of the ITO and the labor principles adopted by the UN and the OAS. In the conclusions certain considerations related to the impact of these contents in labor relations were formulated. The paper does not refer to globalization as such, or to the non-labor contents of the FTAs. It likewise did not examine constitutional contents, or solutions to controversies, nor the application of sanctions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Free trade agreements (FTAs) can affect food environments and non-communicable disease risks through altering the availability of highly-processed foods. Few studies have quantified such effects. Using a natural experiment this paper quantifies changes in Peru's soft-drink market before/after entry into the US-Peru FTA, compared with Bolivia, a county with no such agreement.Methods: Difference-in-difference models were used to test for between country differences in the rate of per capita foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, soft-drink imports, the volumes of various soft-drinks sold, and the volumes of sugar from soft-drinks before/after FTA ratification (2006) and enforcement (2009).Results: In Peru average per capita FDI-inflows rose from US$103.11 in the pre-ratification period to US$269.79 post-ratification, with little change in Bolivia. This corresponded with a 122 % increase in Peruvian soft-drink production. There was a significant between-country difference in FDI-inflows pre-/post-ratification (DID:1.07, 95 % CI:0.19-1.96; p = 0.01). Despite little difference in total per capita soft-drink sales volumes there was a significant between-country difference in per capita sugar from soft-drinks pre-/post enforcement (DID:-0.99, 95 % CI: -1.91-0.06; p = 0.03) with stagnated growth in Peru and continued growth in Bolivia. This resulted from stagnated sugar sweetened carbonates growth and increased bottled water, juice and sports & energy drinks growth in Peru, with continued carbonates growth in Bolivia. There was a significant between-country difference in per capita carbonates (DID: -1.44, 95 % CI: -2.52-0.36, p = 0.01) and bottled water (DID:0.63; 95 % CI: -0.01-1.26; p = 0.04) sales volumes.Conclusions: The FTA may have resulted in increased FDI-inflows and soft-drink production and also contributed to the diversification of soft drinks produced and sold in Peru with some positive (stagnated carbonates and increased bottled water) and some negative (increased juice and sports & energy drinks) implications for nutrition. These changes were not evident in Bolivia. These results should be interpreted cautiously given the study design limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1986 Lao PDR has greatly reduced the barriers to international trade and the government's direct controls over the economy. Aggregate growth during this reform period has been quite rapid. Although the benefits of growth have gone disproportionately to the non-poor and inequality has increased, poverty incidence is nevertheless estimated to have fallen from about 45% in 1992–93 to 30% in 2002–03. After surveying these developments, this paper discusses the policies that the government is currently proposing as ways to ensure that the benefits of further opening of the economy are more equally shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in the relationship between East Asian countries and prospects for further cooperation are discussed, together with analysis of the driving forces for proliferation of free trade areas (FTAs) and preferential trade arrangements(PTAs), as well as the different types of arrangements. The evolution of the key features of such economic cooperation agreements are outlined and the challenges and issues facing more extensive East Asian economic integration are reviewed. The paper concludes with recommendations for bringing about a viable, effective East Asian economic community that will benefi t member countries and contribute positively to global trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When NAFTA was implemented in 1994, there was a general expectation that it would hurt U.S. retailers along the U.S.-Mexico border. This paper asks whether there was a significant change in the pattern of retail trade in border MSAs in the years surrounding NAFTA's implementation. Data from MSAs in the four border states are analyzed. After controlling for other potential influences on retail trade, there remained a statistically significant change in the pattern of retail trade between 1992 and 1997. The changes cannot be unquestionably attributed to NAFTA but do suggest that NAFTA had a negative influence on retail sales on the U.S. side of the border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The articles in this forum address how the epochal process of globalisation pertains to rural and regional Australia. Collectively, they demonstrate the complexity of globalisation in rural areas in three ways. First, globalisation is a multi-faceted phenomenon involving more issues than the fluxion of economy and polity around "free" trade. It simultaneously effects and incites ethical and practical reactions concerning national boundaries, environment, community, health, wealth, language and essentially all other matters with social valence. Second, globalisation has diverse and differential impacts both between the developed and developing nations and within them. Third, globalisation has generated collective angst and organised protest. Taken as a whole, these papers simultaneously illustrate theoretically abstract and privately mundane aspects of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a standard trade model of a small open monetary economy with two traded and one non-traded goods. Money is introduced through a generalized cash-in-advance constraint where the share of goods purchases that must be made using cash, varies across sectors. We find that free trade may be harmful so that alternative policy instruments may be considered to improve welfare. In addition, we study and compare the optimal tariff formula and the optimal consumption tax structure. In the presence of a monetary distortion of the non-traded good, a consumption tax may not Pareto dominate a tariff although the latter bears an additional production burden. This corroborates the theory of second best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]