Monday, January 27, 2020

Bilateral Or Multilateral International Trade Agreement With Eu Economics Essay

Bilateral Or Multilateral International Trade Agreement With Eu Economics Essay International trade is so common in todays business world. No country can fulfil everything it needs by itself, due limited resources and capabilities. There is a great need of collaborations between nations especially in this era of globalisation. A country can import and export its goods and services to other countries or from other countries. This can be done through bilateral or multilateral trade agreements, where by two countries can agree on trade or more than two countries agrees on trade issues regardless their level of development. These Agreements aims to reduce trade barriers and increase the movement of factors of production which are persons, goods, services and investments within countries. These two ways has impacts on trade when Emerging countries enter into agreement with EU countries as it will be illustrated later. As stated by Wikipedia (20101) increasing international trade is very vital to the continuation of globalization. FREE TRADE THEORIES Countries need to trade in order to exchange their goods and services as no country can be self-sufficient through local production of goods and services. There are two theories which support free trade, proposed by different economists: Theory of comparative advantage: According to Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2009 pg.274) in 1817, David Ricardo proposed this theory which states that countries should specialize in areas in which they have a comparative advantage. Theory of absolute advantage: This theory was proposed by Adam Smith in 1776 (Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan, 2009 pg.272) which states that countries should specialize in producing goods in which they have an absolute advantage. Emerging Countries Emerging countries are those countries that growth has come very drastically and so is the level of industrialization, whereby industrialization is driving the economies of those markets/nations. There are about 28 nations that are regarded emerging with China and India topping the list respectively. (More details in appendix 1). Supporting my illustration behind, Im delighted to mention some of the characteristics of these emerging countries. Characteristics of Emerging Countries Considering a country like India, I have realized its importance in the world due to the fact that, it is one of leaders in technological advancement because so far it has been accepted and relied upon. So, India is not expected to be a burden in the trade agreements with any EU country as itself could offer something beneficial. The second characteristic of an emerging country is labour pool availability at large. Country like China or India itself can be mentioned as those where cheap labour can be relied upon because of poor economic situation and poverty facing its people. So, this results in looking for job vacancies. Thirdly, considering production capacity as one of the characteristic of emerging countries in the sense that, it will be excited on looking for external markets of their products mainly goods and services. So far, I had heard that Brazil is the worlds best coffee producer as well as bananas. Therefore, from my definition above, I dare say that because of the efforts shown by these emerging countries in various aspects there is a great possibility for countries like India, China, Brazil and South Africa to fasten development within their countries. THE EUROPEAN UNION This is the largest and most comprehensive regional economic group. It began as a free trade agreement with the goal to become a customs union and to integrate in other ways. (Daniels et al, 2009, p.346) Why do business with EU? The EU promises for market in terms of both population and income. It is economically strong and stable so companies cannot ignore this potentiality of profit. ECONOMIC INTEGRATION Is the political and economic agreements among countries that give preference to member countries to the agreement. (Daniels et al, 2009, p.339) In other words, economic integration is similar to a situation whereby two or more countries come into collaboration especially in economic issues. From my understanding, economic integration has to be of mutual interest among the participating members. However, elements of any economy must be put into consideration so as to attract economic cooperation among different countries. These elements are inflation or deflation, rate fluctuation and money circulation. Before a country engages itself in international trade, it is wise for the country to decide on the type of trade agreement it is going to take because they have significant influence on the strategies countries choose to trade. These agreements tends to remove trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas which used to protect domestic countries from foreign competition Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2009 pg.54) stated there are two types of trade agreement that the country can choose from: Multilateral trade agreements Bilateral trade agreements BILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS: Is where two countries decide to cooperate more closely together, usually in the form of tariffs reductions (Daniels et al, 2009, p 339) The term bilateral is a little confusing because EU negotiate trade as on trading block, its agreement with other countries, such as between the EU and Brazil, are technically bilateral agreements (Daniels et al 2009 pg.342). EU comprises of about 27 countries. Advantages of Bilateral Agreement First and foremost, as the name itself suggests, it seems that, this is the most efficient and effective way which is also easier to be implemented by the member countries. It is easily done in the sense that, decision making process is not hardly arrived at probably due to the fact that only a few countries mainly two are in. Secondly, through international bilateral relationships it is my hope that, single member country priorities might be considered hand-in-hand with the groups partnership manifesto activities. Disputes difficulties isnt an issue when it comes to bilateral trade agreements because as I said only a few countries take part so dispute settlement wont be time consuming or quarrelsome. Additionally, its quite obvious that these countries in a bilateral trade agreement wont be negligent when it comes to environmental issues as a matter of fact that, maybe such might be having standards and procedures agreed upon so as to preserve environmental degradation. This traces a country like India which environmentally disturbed. However, the legal aspects will be adhered to because bilaterally EU wont hesitate to stop some of the dirty tricks played by dishonest countries as India and probably maybe China. For instance, document and product forgery is a common thing used to falsify business agreements. Therefore, India and the like countries will have trustworthy in globe. Disadvantages of Bilateral Agreement Bilateral accord brings forward trade diversion this is whereby the formation of free trade agreements diverts trade from more efficient exporter to a less efficient exporter. These trade agreements would bring obstacles to trade duties by adding administrative complexity to the customs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_diversion accessed on 4/8/2010 MULTILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS: Is agreement whereby three or more countries come as one to normalize trade between the nations without discriminations, frequently multilateral trade agreement intended to worse trade barriers between participating countries, as a result, increase the degree of economic integration between the participants, never the less the most valuable way of liberalizing trade in an interdependent global economy are considered multilateral trade agreements. (K. Alex, 2010) World Trade Organization (WTO), the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the major multilateral forum through which government can come to agreements and can settle disputes regarding trade. According to in 1947, in order to remove quotas and lessen tariffs, GATT was set up. The basic principle of GATT was to forbid any sort of unfairness that occurs when trading by making each member nation to equally open its markets to every other member nation. For example, most of the times, developed nations take advantage of developing nations; GATT was established to remove these trading unfairness( Daniels et al 2009 pg.340). Advantages of Multilateral The main benefit that countries can benefit from multilateral is the equal treatment. In a multilateral trade agreement it is very easy for member countries to share common standards and procedures that have been agreed upon. For instance, the movement of goods and services from Brazil to different EU countries wont face trade restrictions, embargoes or quotas. So in this case, it will be easy for investors from emerging countries can have start-ups. Also, from my opinion, culture can be used to the maximum advantage because countries in the cooperation will be able to share the good values, beliefs and assumptions when it they aspire to achieve high development goals and objectives. However, this could involve techniques which simplify complexities. Promotion of Transparency  This also contains an equity contemplation in that the worse, less powerful countries are more likely to benefit from this transparency than richer, more powerful ones (not that there isnt much more to be done. (R.Pollock, 2003) Disadvantages of Multilateral Agreement To begin, it is not like bilateral trade agreement because decision making process is very complex in the sense that, until all the countries reach into an agreement so that other activities will follow. Such agreement mostly takes lengthy of time. Also multilateral agreement leads to trade diversification. . The main disadvantage that emerging countries can suffer from multilateral is the equal treatment between countries, this levels the playing ground while the levels of economic development is different. How can a China company that are less competent by nature though not all compete with an American conglomerate company in the same bases? Can it be a fair trade? Such an agreement is bound to exploit small economies. This agreements will not consider small economies well being and moreover this agreement will halt the success of small nation to prosper further. This disadvantage will conflict with political ideology of G8 whereby the agenda for G8 summit is to boost developing countries economies and to eradicate poverty. Due to these reasons this type of agreement is not preferable to be taken by emerging countries. Benefits of international trade agreements with the EU Technology transfer EU member countries are more advanced in technology, thus emerging countries trading with them they could benefits by employing it to innovate their business processes to increase their productivity and hence grow. Increase export Emerging countries have a plenty of raw materials used by developed counties in their industries, so engaging in multilateral agreement they would be able to export more and increase their foreign exchange reserves. Also this will improve the balance of payment of emerging countries. Expand sales of the existing product: It creates a second market and the global market when a country enters itself in international trade .hence it widens its sales by selling its active products both domestically and globally. Impact of trade agreement These international agreements have profound effects on member states both negatively and positively. Nations sovereignty is threatened to some extent as countries could be interfered on making their decision to progress economically. For instance the EU would want a certain course of action to be taken and on the other hand the emerging countries would want the opposite. International trade agreement between European Union (EU) and emerging nation would impact the culture for both parties unconstructively and optimistically. There is always a chance for culture to be diluted and enriched respectively. CONCLUSION The business environment is very dynamic the one who is quicker can take the advantage before the windows of opportunity is closed for that matter In conclusion, for emerging countries, bilateral agreements are preferred than multilateral agreements. Reasons: Bilateral is attractive because most emerging countries prefer quick results stated by Lamy (n.d.). Bilateral agreements take shorter time to reach agreement and conscious as it involves fewer participants compared to multilateral. This is good because of the dynamic nature of the businesses. Bilateral agreements is a free trade where by all tariffs that restrict trade are removed; for this reason emerging countries engaging in bilateral agreement are not bound to any trade restrictions. No need to agree with WTO members they can trade with any country they wish, so long as they share the common goal and interest and they dont block the laws. Bilateral agreements are easier for countries to pursue because it is easier to resolve issues in a smaller setting. (Daniel et al 2009.p342) It is easier to resolve and settle issue between two countries than among many different countries because each country may have its own opinion and interest hence misunderstanding can occur due to the complexity of culture.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Lessons Principals Must Learn Essay

Gary Hopkins compiled some of the lessons learned by school principals in his article â€Å"Principals Share Lessons Learned: Dealing With Student Discipline, Parent Involvement. † He has, however, like in other of his articles, failed to express his reason as to why write the article. Perhaps, and most probably, it was to share these lessons to other principals. Although some lessons may be self-explanatory, Hopkins has also failed to discuss in depth the lessons principals have learned. He had failed to incorporate reason and clarity to his articles. The current article in question may also have a wrong or inaccurate choice of title as some of the lessons discussed doesn’t involve sudent discipline and parent involvement. One lesson discussed in the article is that principals should focus on discipline among students. The principal who shared this lesson held that â€Å"big problems can be solved by tackling small problems† (Hopkins 2004). True enough, any small effort can really make a big difference. Perhaps discipline should be enforced by the teachers as well, not just by the principal, and must also involve themselves, not just the students. Teachers and school administrators are also models for the students, and they should act like it. Children will often think right and immitate what they see among their elders. Another lesson discussed is involving the parents in decision-making. It is, after all, for their sons’ or daughters’ interests whatever decision is made concerning the school. Involving the parents doesn’t necessarily mean asking for their approval or asking them individually. Asking for their opinion on a proper forum or informing them of something that concerns the school which may affect the students is sometimes enough. Read more:  Most Important Lesson Learned in Life Essay Other lessons that were discussed in the article includes being cautious in giving lectures to the children and being prepared when discussing issues with the parents. One principal advised to include classroom observations in a principal’s activity and to talk with students regarding school goals and ideals. Another advised to instill pride for the school when administering discipline. Lessons that does not fall under the category â€Å"Dealing with Student Discipline and Parent Involvement† includes lessons learned from keeping harmony and unity within school organization and, as with any other organization, lessons in politics. It is sad that even in educational institutions politics play a critical role in the activity of administration. One principal said that â€Å"politics, not students, come first† (Hopkins 2004). Seems that education is no longer a priority for most of the people. Perhaps one of the most important lesson that school admintrators must learn is according to Brian Hazeltine, principal at Airdie Koinonia Christian School in Canada: â€Å"we cannot fix everything as principals, but in every situation there is either a best course of action or a fair and reasonable one† (Hopkins 2004). What really is peculiar about these lessons is that they are common, applicable to any organization. The difference is that they came from principals who experience what may be experienced in some other organization, regarding people they deal with—teachers, students, and officials higher up. Another is that Hopkins fails to expound on the lessons learned, confine it with matters of school administration. The lessons included in the article are dull, lacking in details and essence. Furthermore, some of the lessons are off topic.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Education of women Essay

Daniel Defoe’s essay entitled â€Å"The Education of Women† was written to emphasis the value of education for women should be more than what is was. In para- graph 1 â€Å"†¦ us a civilized and a Christian country† Defoe’s target audience was for men and for those who follow the church and God. Eng- land at this time was dominantly of Christian faith and in this essay Defoe advocates more of God’s will rather than his own to establish his own credibility and moral high ground and Defoe is able to do this by raising this issue in the minds of his Christian  readership. Although there may not be too much weight behind his view on why women needed to be educated, with referencing God throughout the essay it becomes an effective reading with his target audience. He starts with his opinion then refers to God in the next sentence. This is a regular theme from start to finish and this captures his reader’s interest early on. Defoe included this rhetorical sentences in this essay and in paragraph 3 Defoe writes â€Å"the soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the  luster of it will never appear†. His analogy is that if you don’t polish the diamond (women and educating) then they will never shine. In paragraph 3 he uses the term God in his next sentence. â€Å"If knowledge and understanding had been useless additions to the 1 Yorke sex, God Almighty would never have given them capacities; for he made nothing needless. † He states that God made women capable of learning and that none of God’s creation is unnecessary. Defoe believes women should be educated and educating them they would simply  become better wives and companions for men. As an example of this is in paragraph 5, he does not suggest learning practical subjects such as math and science but instead, he says that they should be taught† â€Å"†¦ in particular, Music and Dancing; which it would be cruelty to bar the sex of, because they are their darlings. But besides this, they should be taught languages† He also adds that they should read history books to be more ‘cultured’ so that they can â€Å".. understand the world, and to be able to know and judge of things when  they hear of them. † Defoe’s argument is that women as an equal. In paragraph 7 he writes â€Å"Women, in my observation, have little or no difference in them, but as they are or are not distin- guished by education. † Defoe summarizes in the last paragraph with this rhetorical sentence â€Å"I refer the Practice to those Happy Days (if ever they shall be) when men shall be wise enough to mend it. † Defoe implies that if man can change his views on education for women, then a woman would be educated will be seen as an equal amongst men.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

War on Drugs - 818 Words

Harsh, cruel, and unusual is an understatement to the punishments given to drug dealers for their drug related offenses. Mandatory minimum drug sentencing was arguably established to target higher level drug dealers but recently the majority of cases have been low level drug dealers. Distributing narcotics is a serious offense, but do these people who are trying to support themselves, a family, or an addiction deserve to spend close to a lifetime incarcerated? During the 1960’s drugs became a symbol of â€Å"youthful rebellion, social upheaval, and political dissent†, the government quickly stepped into action and by June 1971, President Nixon declared a â€Å"war on drugs†. The size and presence of federal drug control agencies and drastic measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. Marijuana was placed under the most restrictive category of drugs and the war on drugs was underway (A Brief History of the Drug War, Bureau of Justice Statistics). 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