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Many trade economists, even the WTO, consider The Global Value Chains (GVCs) as a "paradigm shift" in international trade. The radical change occurring in global trade patterns not only creates a need for new foreign trade policy targets but also makes the traditional methods of analysis questionable both empirically and theoretically. This study aims to furnish a holistic frame of research for the correct interpretation of GVC indicators by emphasizing the structural features of GVCs and the importance of different country roles inside in defining the new trade policy objectives. Our study shows that the import dependency in GVCs is no more the main source of foreign dependency and targeting a decrease in the import share of exports can act in a contradictory way with countries' objectives for economic independence. Hence, we redefine the concept of trade dependency by the bargaining power and total value-added shares of countries within the global value chains. Finally, we present in a comparative approach the calculation methods of the new GVC indicators that are available in the literature and used for the analysis of the structure of GVCs and the participation of individual countries. However other than previous work focusing on the Turkish case, we do not conduct an empirical analysis in this research paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International trade, which has an important role in the economic policies of almost all countries, has been one of the most interesting subject since the beginning of economics. The opinions on foreign trade have been shaped around two axes: free trade and protectionism. Along with the effects of growth and welfare, concerns about whether it will be achieved similar results for each country have led to the increasing prevalence of protectionist views. For this reason, it is important to determine which foreign trade policy has a positive effect on countries. In particular, to choose the foreign trade policy will directly affect the development path of emerging countries. In this study, the relationship between economic growth and foreign trade policies is analysed for 20 countries in the MSCI Emerging Market Index. In the analysis covering the period of 2009-2019, the Global Trade Alert data on the number of policies of trade liberalising and harmful was used as the proxies of foreign trade policies. It was concluded that the harmful trade policies affect negatively economic growth in the analysis using system GMM method. It was found no significant relationship in terms of trade liberalising policies. The findings show that protectionism, in line with mainstream views, reduces welfare in emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes transformations of foreign trade in goods of Ukraine in 2000-2017. The choice of the study period is due to the fact that the "recovery" and the gradual growth of the Ukrainian economy after the long crisis of the 1990s has began since 2000. Ukraine had a mostly negative foreign commercial balance (except for 2000-2004 and 2015); generally balanced foreign trade; dangerous import dependency ratio; extremely economy openness index; the high exports ratio in 2000-2017. The volumes of export, imports and foreign commercial turnover had unstable dynamics with negative trends in 2008-2009 and 2013-2015. Base metals and their ware; plant products; animal or plant fats and oils were prevailed in the export component of the foreign commerce; mineral products; machines, equipment and mechanisms, electric and technical equipment; products of chemical and derivative industries were dominant in the structure of import in 2017. The export was characterized by increase in the share of products of the primary sector (due to crop production) and decrease in the secondary sector (due to metallurgy, machine building, chemical and textile industry) during 2001-2017. The import was characterized by decrease in the share of raw materials and increase in the share of all other goods during the mentioned period. Commodity structure of foreign trade became more proportional, without a highly dominant product. The Russian Federation, Poland, Turkey, Italy, India were the key partners in the export of goods, while those ones in the import were the Russian Federation, China, Germany, Poland, Belarus. The key partners remained during 2001-2017 (the Russian Federation, Poland, Turkey, Italy, China, Germany were key partner in export; In the import - the Russian Federation, Germany, Poland, Belarus, the USA, Italy were key partner in import. Despite the drastic decrease in trade relations with the Russian Federation, it remains the largest partner in the Ukrainian foreign commerce. Among the regions of the world, the largest trading partner of Ukraine in recent years is Europe with relevant reduction of CIS countries in the common share. It is necessary to provide a set of measures aimed at increasing the efficiency of export activity and import substitution in the certain sectors of the economy to balance foreign commerce of Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that President Richard M. Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC) established an anti-Soviet alliance between Beijing and Washington that reshaped the global Cold War power balance. Naturally, scholars have focused on strategic issues such as the Sino-Soviet split, the Vietnam War, Taiwan, and other factors of "high politics" to understand the U.S.-China rapprochement. However, one can no longer dismiss U.S.-PRC trade in the 1970s, albeit small in total volume, as insignificant and thus unimportant to the reconciliation. This article first examines how the Johnson and Nixon administrations conceived trade as a useful tool to improve relations with Communist China. It then explores how the Americans and Chinese carried out trade between themselves in the 1970s. It argues that many Americans were enthusiastic about U.S.-PRC trade because they believed that reopened economic relations with the United States would persuade the PRC to abandon its Communist model of modernization and move closer to following the capitalist example. If the United States could promote China's attraction to its capitalist model for future development, then their shared economic interests and developmental visions would consolidate further the U.S.-China strategic alliance. In this sense, promoting trade was a way for the United States to apply soft power to change the PRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study dealt with the analysis of the related policies affecting the supply response of wheat and Egyptian clover (berseem) acreage in Egypt. These policies were the price policy, the policy of raising the yield (productivity) of wheat, bread price subsidy at the retail stage, foreign trade policy of wheat. In addition, the study estimated some econometric relationships between the policy variables, which included domestic price and the world price of wheat, the variables affecting the wheat profitability and berseem profitability in Egypt. The study concluded from the analysis of relations between the variables of the policies targeted modifying the prevailing competitiveness between wheat and berseem on the agricultural area produced several important results: the depreciation of the value of the Egyptian pound against the American dollar makes the growth rate in domestic wheat price to match imported wheat price to the Egyptian market would be doubled 6 times, the growth rate of world wheat price, which places a huge burden on the state to procure foreign currency and inflate the size of the funding gap. These burdens are compounded by increased imports of wheat due to population growth. Such policy would increase the subsidy burden and then social costs as the world price in US dollars has grown by about 1% a year over the four decades ago, while the exchange rate of the dollar to Egyptian pound led to make the growth rate of domestic wheat in Egyptian pounds about 6% which, will enter Egypt to fall in a dilemma of risk of enlargement of the national debt payment. Thus, despite the positive impact of increased farm price, depending on a policy of raising the price to cover the increase in the costs of production due to increase in the free agricultural input prices, monopolistic practices and fraud, with fluctuations in productivity of wheat through time, would cause burdens of distortions in the economy over the long term that might be of unbearable consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major trends in foreign trade policy of the EU are increasingly liberalizing markets for goods and services and strengthening the position of integration associations in the world trade, these trends are analyzed in this article. The principles of free trade within the EU are fixed with rules of trade and customs law and formally all member states are equal participants in the free market. After joining the EU Latvia has consistently pursued a policy of market liberalization. Over the years the foreign trade turnover in Latvia grew more than twice and this figure is one of the highest among the new EU countries. Such a high rate of market openness reflects the very strong dependence of the economy o f Latvia on the situation on foreign markets and is a major factor of unsustainable development. Unbalanced increase in exports and imports after joining the EU was one of the reasons for the sharp fluctuations in the economy in conditions of crisis in 2009. Analysis of the dynamics and structure of Latvia’s foreign trade shows that the influence of the liberal foreign trade policy of the EU in the economic growth of the national economy is very contradictory. In order to really good use of the advantages of the open market o f the EU is necessary to conduct a comprehensive economic policy to improve the competitiveness of the national economy and all decisions in foreign trade should be seen through the prism of their impact on the competitiveness of domestic enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-state actors contribute with inputs to the elaboration of the national interest in trade negotiations, thus enhancing its legitimacy. Nevertheless, does the participation of those actors necessarily equal influence on the part of all segments of civil society on policymaking? To answer the question, I argue that procedural legitimacy should be evaluated not only in relation to the inputs society provides to the State, but should also consider whether officials actually analyse societal contributions in decision-making. I demonstrate the empirical application of the model based upon Brazil's experience in multilateral trade negotiations during the 2000s, using Mexico as a shadow case. I conclude that foreign trade policymaking can only be democratised if, in procedural legitimacy, the State attributes equal weight to contributions from all types of societal actors, including civil society organisations and organised social movements, which tend to have less material resources and power than interest groups such as business associations and labour unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We use an empirical estimation procedure to examine the effect of macroeconomic variables of Israel''s trading partners on the country''s exports. The main goal of our study is to use the estimation results to point to the optimal trade policy for Israel, and compare it with the current policy. Using disaggregated panel data on Israel''s exports to its 22 main trading partners we were able to implement a unique estimation procedure, which enables a new and closer look at the effectiveness of the country''s foreign trade policy. Our model estimates Israel''s total export elasticities as well as specific elasticities of exports to each trading-partner. The model produces positive export elasticities with respect to a partner country''s total imports and the real exchange rate. Free trade agreements (FTAs) were also examined, and were found to have a considerable positive effect on exports. A higher level of corruption in the destination country was found to be associated with a lower level of Israeli exports. Using our estimated results, and taking into account the array of Israel''s foreign trade policy tools, we formulated recommendations for policy reform, highlighting the potential benefits of this reform on Israel''s predicted exports. If no new foreign trade policy is introduced, a total growth of 74% in Israel''s exports is expected over the course of 2012–2020; however, if reform recommendations are implemented, the expected growth rate nearly doubles, as Israeli exports are predicted to grow by a total of 135%.^p [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

If the total domestic expenditures are higher than the domestic production in an economy, this deficit will be covered from the outside and the current account will have a deficit accordingly. This study analyzes with formal tests whether or not Turkey's current account deficit is too large, which has always been a controversial issue since the 1980 structural change and transformation program. According to the conducted analysis, it is observed that the current account deficit has continually increased especially after 2001 economic crisis although current account deficit is not too large. As a consequence, a structural change is required in the foreign trade policy of Turkey in order for Turkey's economy not to come across crises again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to analyze Brazil's foreign trade policy, which is of growing importance and complexity, in the particular case of litigation with the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body. Such policy centralization with the Executive Branch is examined with focus on the decision making processes, with grounds on the political and economical context relevant to the selection of disputes to be initiated with the mentioned dispute settlement mechanism. Brazilian Chamber of Foreign Commerce (Camex)'s operations are scrutinized, as well as its interactions with other state bodies, which is followed by an investigation of the dynamics of the disputes' conduction and their repercussion on the WTO's trade agenda. Perceived results are that, despite decisions in respect to the litigation with the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body being centralized with Camex, dispute settlement decisions correspond to the country's trade mix and strategic international negotiation positions, and are closely connected to the Brazilian exports and major trade partners. Shaped by internal and external constraints, therefore, the strategies related to international trade disputes require enhanced transparency and cooperation with the private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]