The share of the US economy controlled by foreign firms has tripled since the mid-1970s. The authors find that foreign firms appear to invest in the United States mainly to exploit their individual advantages in management and technology - the same reasons why American firms invest abroad - rather than because the United States is now running large deficits and has become a large debtor nation. Foreign-owned firms do not pay lower wages or shift good jobs and research and development away from the United States. Foreign-owned firms and especially Japanese firms do, however, have a marked tendency to import more of their production inputs. The authors warn that the President's new legislative authority to screen FDI on national security grounds could easily be abused, but endorse using this authority to ensure access to critical technologies or production processes including a requirement on some foreign firms to invest in the United States. They propose new international rules to minimize governmental interference and harmonize policies toward multinational firms.

A penetrating account of how unchecked capital mobility is damaging international cooperation, polarizing the economic landscape, and ultimately reshaping the global order "An expert on global financial and monetary systems . . . lucidly describes the failings of the international monetary 'non-system' that emerged after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s."-Martin Wolf, Financial Times "Best Books of 2020: Economics" When it comes to the afflictions of the global economy, almost everyone-and especially Donald Trump-is quick to point the finger of blame at the state of international trade. But what about unconstrained capital flows? Unfettered capital has resulted in a string of financial and economic crises that have left our political systems strained and dialogue corroded. The once perceived benefits of openness have been cast to the wayside and the cracks in the global order can no longer be ignored. Paola Subacchi argues that international cooperation and interdependence have become crippled. Regional restrictions will soon strengthen and a multipolar order will take shape, leading to a distinctly transformed economic landscape in which China challenges the dominance of the US dollar. Combining history, analysis, and prediction, this book provides penetrating insight into the challenges facing the international economic order.

In Power and Regionalism in Latin America: The Politics of MERCOSUR, Laura Gomez-Mera examines the erratic patterns of regional economic cooperation in the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), a political-economic agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and, recently, Venezuela that comprises the world's fourth-largest regional trade bloc. Despite a promising start in the early 1990s, MERCOSUR has had a tumultuous and conflict-ridden history. Yet it has survived, expanding in membership and institutional scope. What explains its survival, given a seemingly contradictory mix of conflict and cooperation? Through detailed empirical analyses of several key trade disputes between the bloc's two main partners, Argentina and Brazil, Gomez-Mera proposes an explanation that emphasizes the tension between and interplay of two sets of factors: power asymmetries within and beyond the region, and domestic-level politics. Member states share a common interest in preserving MERCOSUR as a vehicle for increasing the region's leverage in external negotiations. Gomez-Mera argues that while external vulnerability and overlapping power asymmetries have provided strong and consistent incentives for regional cooperation in the Southern Cone, the impact of these systemic forces on regional outcomes also has been crucially mediated by domestic political dynamics in the bloc's two main partners, Argentina and Brazil. Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, the unequal distribution of power within the bloc has had a positive effect on the sustainability of cooperation. Despite Brazil's reluctance to adopt a more active leadership role in the process of integration, its offensive strategic interests in the region have contributed to the durability of institutionalized collaboration. However, as Gomez-Mera demonstrates, the tension between Brazil's global and regional power aspirations has also added significantly to the bloc's ineffectiveness.

This publication explores how Bhutan could boost its exports by addressing nontariff barriers to trade. It focuses on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, and on export products that have the potential to increase their market share in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It considers options including legal reforms, the upgrade of quality standards and laboratory equipment, and institution building of accrediting bodies and conformity assessment bodies. Practical recommendations suggest ways forward for both the public and private sectors.

150 years ago, Belgium and Japan signed their first treaty. They have been important economic partners for each other ever since. As a result, the reciprocal exchange of artistic influence between these countries flourished: Belgian artists were inspired by 'Japanisme', while Japanse writers read the works of Maurice Maeterlinck and Emiile Verhaeren. After the devastating violence of World War II, these two countries' cooperation finally resulted in a solid alliance. This book invites its readers to focus on the cross-cultural exchanges that make the Belgian-Japanese relationship a fertile space for diplomacy, trade, and creativity.

This report compares the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with other free trade agreements and suggests how policy makers can promote its successful implementation. The analysis in this report aims to support policy makers and negotiators in RCEP implementation by identifying areas where further work is needed to make the agreement more attractive to firms and investors. The report shows that despite RCEP's shortcomings it presents valuable opportunities to deepen regional economic integration. Critically important are the agreement's built-in provisions and economic and technical cooperation measures that make it possible to expand its depth and coverage in the future.

This note provides information on planning and implementing electronic national single window systems to support efficient compliance with international trade regulations. A national single window enables trade and transport stakeholders to provide information to multiple government agencies through one platform to meet import, export, and transit requirements efficiently. Processing international trade through a single window reduces cargo release time and the cost of doing business, increases competitiveness and efficiency, and improves the way business is done. The guidance note explores why such a system matters, key governance and design components, international interoperability, good practices, and risk mitigation.

Globalization, Trade, and Economic Development: The CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement is the most in-depth study of the economic partnership between the European Union and the fifteen Caribbean developing countries that make up CARIFORUM. The CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is the first trade agreement of its kind, as it is a new type of WTO-compatible trade agreement between a group of developed countries and a group of developing countries. As a principal negotiator for CARIFORUM, Richard L. Bernal is uniquely qualified to provide a unique perspective on trade and economic development in the midst of globalization. In this book, he comprehensively explores the components of the EPA from all angles, explains how the agreement provides opportunities to strengthen and accelerate economic development, and outlines the policies which can allow the CARIFORUM countries to seize these opportunities. Bernal's explanation of the institutional arrangements for the conduct of the negotiations by CARIFORUM is invaluable to governments and regional organizations in developing countries for coordinating groups to advance common and joint positions in international negotiations.

This publication examines the economy and trade of Pakistan in the context of global value chains (GVCs), or cross-border production networks. The report combines innovative analytical tools with the latest available data to explore Pakistan's involvement in GVCs. It produces indicators on factors including Pakistan's rate of GVC participation, its patterns of specialization, and the price competitiveness of its exports. It is a joint publication with the Islamic Development Bank Institute.

Japanese journalist Yoichi Funabashi has written the first in-depth study of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum based on extensive interviews with heads of state and government officials in the region. A key force behind APEC, he argues, is a potential "fusion" of Asia-Pacific civilizations propelled by the region s dynamic economic integration. He recounts APEC s six-year history, assesses its potential, and examines the power politics of the region. Released just before the Osaka summit hosted by Japan in November 1995, this book looks closely at Japan's interests in APEC and its relations with countries in the region. It provides an intellectual framework for the future evolution of APEC itself and for Japan's role in that institution.

Conditions on the US-Mexico border are often so deplorable that they seem "made for TV." Air and water pollution blighted northern Mexican cities long before NAFTA was a glimmer on the political horizon. Not surprisingly, when NAFTA became a political reality, environmentalists reacted. They argued, among other things, that commercial competition would weaken environmental standards in all three countries, and that industrial growth in Mexico would further damage its weak environmental infrastructure. The demands for action against current and potential abuses posed a serious obstacle to the completion of NAFTA negotiations. A side accord -- the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) -- helped alleviate some of these concerns. But in the aftermath of NAFTA's economic success, poor living conditions persist in most of Mexico. Many environmental groups blame NAFTA and, drawing on its experience, now oppose new trade initiatives.

Does the NAFTA record on the environment since 1994 justify its criticism? Seven years is too short to redress decades of environmental abuse, but it is not too soon to assess NAFTA's achievements and shortcomings in meeting its environmental objectives. In this analysis, the authors review (1) the environmental provisions of the NAFTA; (2) the NAAEC; (3) the situation at the US-Mexican border; and (4) the trends in North American environmental policy. They emphasize that the environmental problems of North America were not the result of NAFTA nor was the NAAEC devised to address all of them. But with its huge success in expanding free trade, NAFTA has concentrated population and environmental abuse at the US-Mexico border -- where it ismost visible to Americans.

The authors offer recommendations to better NAFTA's environmental dimension in all three countries, and improve living conditions where economic growth is greatest -- at the US-Mexican border. It makes more sense to tackle the shortcomings than to lament NAFTA and the economic growth it promotes.

Oil palms are ubiquitous--grown in nearly every tropical country, they supply the world with more edible fat than any other plant and play a role in scores of packaged products, from lipstick and soap to margarine and cookies. And as Jonathan E. Robins shows, sweeping social transformations carried the plant around the planet. First brought to the global stage in the holds of slave ships, palm oil became a quintessential commodity in the Industrial Revolution. Imperialists hungry for cheap fat subjugated Africa's oil palm landscapes and the people who worked them. In the twentieth century, the World Bank promulgated oil palm agriculture as a panacea to rural development in Southeast Asia. As plantation companies tore into rainforests, evicting farmers in the name of progress, the oil palm continued its rise to dominance, sparking new controversies over trade, land and labor rights, human health, and the environment. By telling the story of the oil palm across multiple centuries and continents, Robins demonstrates how the fruits of an African palm tree became a key commodity in the story of global capitalism, beginning in the eras of slavery and imperialism, persisting through decolonization, and stretching to the present day.

This book deals with the substantive issues and procedures of the EU Trade Barrier and illustrates the value and growing importance of TBR in its detailed analysis of leading decisions.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement involving major countries across the Asia Pacific region. The trade pact, which entered into force on 30 December 2018, is considered by many to be the 'gold standard', given its ambitious scope and depth. This volume offers multi-dimensional insights into the CPTPP and its impact on Southeast Asia. It begins with broad analyses covering the historical, economic and geopolitical aspects of the CPTPP. Subsequent chapters focus on the nature and implications of three key path-breaking provisions in the trade agreement, namely investor-state dispute settlement, intellectual property rights and state-owned enterprises. The effect of the CPTPP on Southeast Asia in terms of regional production networks is also examined from the perspective of Japanese multinational enterprises. The potential economic impact of the agreement is analysed for member countries (Vietnam and Malaysia) as well as countries that aspire to join the CPTPP in the future (Indonesia and Thailand).