Chapter 8: The Export-Import Sector

Chapter 8The Export-Import Sector8-1Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Chapter ObjectivesThe basis for international tradeU. S. imports and exportsA summing up: C + I + G + XnThe world’s leading trading nationsWorld trade agreements and free-trade zones8-2Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The Basis for International TradeThe basis for international trade is that a nation can import a particular good or service at a lower cost than if it were produced domesticallyIn other words, if you can buy it cheaper than you can make it you buy itThis maxim is true for individuals and nations8-3Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.8-4Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Merchandise Imports and Exports as Percentage of Goods Produced in the United States, 1990-2000 Since 1990 our imports and exports as a percentage of goods produced in the United States has grown steadily. More than one-quarter of all the goods produced here are shipped abroad, while our imports are equal to about one-third of the goods we produce in the United States 8-5Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Sum of U.S. Imports and Exports as Percentage of GDP, 1970-2000Between 1970 and 2000 the foreign trade sector nearly tripled as a percentage of GDP8-6Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.U.S. Balance of Trade in Goods, Services, and Overall Balance, 1970-2000 (in billions of dollars)Since the late 1980s, we have been running a large and growing balance on services. Our balance on goods, which has been negative since the mid-1970s, has grown steadily worse since 1991 and now totals more than $300 billionA Summing Up: C + I + G + Xn8-7Net exports = XnXn = Exports - ImportsCopyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.8-8 Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.C + I + G + XnWhy is the C + I + G + Xn line lower than the C + I + G line?Answer: It is lower because net exports (Xn) are negative8-9 Exports of Goods & Services as Percent-age of GDP, Selected Countries, 1999Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.8-10Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The World’s Top Ten Exporting Nations, 1999World Trade Agreements and Free Trade ZonesThe North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA)The European Union (EU)The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT)The World Trade Organization (WTO)8-11Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]NAFTA was ratified by Congress in 1993NAFTA created a free trade area including Canada, the United States, and MexicoTrade barriers in industrial goods were dismantledAgreements on services, investment, intellectual property rights, agriculture, and strengthening of trades rules were includedThere were also side agreements on labor adjustment provisions, protection of environment, and import surges8-12Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]8-13How well has NAFTA worked?In late 1994, the United States trade surplus with Mexico was up about 20 percentIn early 1995, the full effects of the peso’s fall turned this trade surplus into an annual deficit of more than $15 billion Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]8-14How well has NAFTA worked?Clearly, the threat of moving operations to Mexico has had a depressing effect on American factory wagesHourly wages and fringe benefits average about $1.50 an hour in MexicoThere is little evidence that the agreement has cost more than 200,000 jobsThis is less than 2 one-thousandths of America’s total employmentCopyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.8-15Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The European Union (EU)This free trade association of 15 nations was formed in 1992Freight is now able to move anywhere within the EU without checkpoint delays and paperworkSo-called quality codes were endedWorkers from any EU country can work in any other member country8-16Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The European Union (EU)In 1999, 11 EU countries formed the European Monetary Union and the euro was established as a common currencyInitially, the euro existed along with each country’s own currencyIn 2002 new euro coins and paper money will begin to replace each country’s own national currenciesThis common currency is expected to make trade among participating member nations much easier to conduct8-17Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.World Trade AgreementsThe General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) was drafted in 1947 and has since been signed by more than 135 nationsThe latest version was ratified by Congress in 1994GATT willReduce tariffs by an average of 40%Lower other barriers to trade such as quotas on certain productsProvide patent protection for American software, pharmaceuticals, and other industries8-18Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.World Trade Agreements8-19Will GATT help or hurt the United States?Although some industries will be affected adversely, the positive appears to outweigh the negativeOn average, foreign countries have more trade restrictions and tariffs on U. S. goods than we have on theirsGATT should help the U. S. more than it hurtsCopyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.World Trade Agreements8-20Will GATT help or hurt the United States?GATT will, for the first time protect intellectual property rights like patents, trademarks, and copyrightsGATT will also open markets for service industries such as accounting, advertising, computer services, and engineeringThese are fields in which Americans excelCopyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.World Trade Agreements8-21Will GATT help or hurt the United States?GATT brings agriculture under international trade rules for the first time.European farm subsidies dwarf those paid to American farmersProportionally, the Europeans will will have to reduce their subsidies a lot more than the United States, making American crop exports even more competitive Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The World Trade Organization (WTO)The WTO was set up in 1995 as a successor to GATTThe WTO is based on three major principlesLiberalization of tradeNondiscrimination [the most-favored-nation principle]No unfair encouragement of exports8-22Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Liberalization of TradeTrade barriers, which were reduced under GATT, should continue to be reduced under the WTOTrade barriers have been falling within free trade zones such as NAFTA and the European Union 8-23Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.NondiscriminationThe Most-Favored-Nation PrincipleUnder the most-favored-nation principle, members of WTO must offer all its members the same trade concessions as any given member.This is a lot like when the teacher says that if you bring candy to class, you must bring some for everyone8-24Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.No Unfair Encouragement of ExportsNo unfair encouragement of exports encompasses export subsidies, which are considered a form of unfair competition8-25Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The WTO Dispute Settlement BodyThe WTO has a Dispute Settlement Body to handle disagreements among member nationsMany politicians in the United States have very reluctantly accepted the jurisdiction of the WTOThe United States has won almost all the more than two dozen cases in which the U. S. was the complaining party8-26Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The Seattle ProtestThe WTO held a meeting in Seattle in late 1999Tens of thousands of protesters descended on the cityProminent among them were labor unions, environmentalists, and human rights advocates8-27Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The Seattle ProtestBusinessWeek outlined the reasons for the protestsEnvironmentalists argue that elitist trade and economics bodies make undemocratic decisions that undermine national sovereignty on environmental regulationUnions charge that unfettered trade allows unfair competition from countries that lack labor standards8-28Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.The Seattle ProtestBusinessWeek outlined the reasons for the protestsHuman rights and student groups say the IMF and the World Bank prop up regimes that condone sweatshops and pursue policies that bail out foreign lenders at the expense of local economies8-29Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.SummaryThe debate is not about “free trade” but about “fair trade”Many Americans, as well as citizens of other leading industrial nations, have strong reservations about ceding their national sovereignty to international organizationsEspecially the WTO8-30Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.SummaryThe debate is not about “free trade” but about “fair trade”Much concern centers on the possible loss of jobs and the reduction of wages in their countries if their workers were forced to compete with low-wage workers in the poorer countriesMany earn just one or two dollars a day8-31Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.SummaryThe debate is not about “free trade” but about “fair trade”Is it fair to make American factories, which uphold relatively high environmental standards, compete with Third World factories that are not similarly burdened?If the United States and other industrial countries are subject to the rules and regulations of the WTO, their own governments would be unable to prevent a flood of cheap imports8-32Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.