As we live in a global economy we can no longer rely on the clothing labels promising a product made in Italy or elsewhere. Products are produced wherever the costs are the lowest whereas the quality stays the same or is even better. It is not surprising that the production of coats is no exception to this international trade phenomenon. A documentary video, which we have seen during the lecture of the international marketing class, shows impressively how international trade functions and how businesses and even nations are affected.
At the MAGIC Show in Las Vegas, where producers present their newest textiles and coat makes to a retailers audience, we have our first insight in the clothing industry. It is obvious which countries play
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Impressed by this worldwide supply chain and the international entanglement of markets we now want to discuss some of the bases of global trade, its implications and the advantages and disadvantages of such an evolution. The major reason behind international expansion and the import of goods is the search for minimum labour cost at a certain quality level or the highest quality for a certain price. Products are bought from the best and cheapest producers whereas transportation costs often play a secondary role. Domestic producers, paying wages many times higher than in developing countries, cannot always fulfil the requirements. Products, which only require low skilled workers, are already produced and imported from abroad since many years. Moreover, as the workers in low-wage areas gets more educated, foreign companies challenge more and more the local white-collar workforce. Isn't this evolution a major threat to our local labour market?
From an economic point of view, we cannot support this hypothesis. Free trade allows nations and companies to specialize themselves in producing goods in which they have a comparative advantage over others. Other goods, in which a nation lacks in efficiency, should better be imported than domestically produced. This specialization helps to further improve productivity, reduce the prices for products and hence, increases the overall live quality of the citizens.
On the
Although globalization allows for most products to be produced at a more efficient rate, it also has the capability to mar the economies of municipalities in first world countries. In Pietra Rivoli’s book The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, she discusses the different viewpoints of opposing sides of an on-going battle to reduce the amount of tariffs and quotas put on the textile industries of foreign countries. For decades the textile industry in America has been on a noticeable decline, with outsourcing to third-world countries to blame. Although both faction’s viewpoints on the benefits of such outsourcing, both realize that there is only one way to gain the results they seek; which is to petition to the congressmen, including high ranking officials such as the president, in Washington D.C.
While it is ideal to have free trade, which is trade without any restrictions upon it, it is not that simple. Instead, there are tariffs and quotas that prevent free trade. Tariffs are taxes on imports, and quotas are a limit on the quantity of a good that can be imported during a given time period. Tariffs and quotas exist because governments may prefer that their products be sold nationally more than another country’s products to help their own economy. Their own economy is helped because more jobs can be given to that country’s workers instead of another country’s workers. While quotas and tariffs may help boost a country’s economy, free trade allows for reduced prices, less inefficiencies, and increased consumption worldwide. With tariffs, the supply curve remains level as the price level never changes due to the extra-tax upon imported items. It should be
In conclusion, the topic of free trade is difficult to debate and often controversial as it has advantages but also disadvantages. Nonetheless, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits as it one, contravenes basic moral ideologies, two, makes the rich, richer, and the poor, poorer, and three, jeopardizes our declining environment. All in all, free trade will neither support nor sustain our country to be ethical, prosperous or
Free trade provides opportunity, it provides growth, and it provides struggling nations a chance. With free trade, markets open across national borders and the consumer ultimately benefits from higher quality goods at fair market prices. The producers of such goods now have larger markets to sell to allowing for the opportunity at increased sales, giving the consumer a greater variety of goods that can more individually meet specific demands. Free trade implementation to the United States foreign policy is a developing and revolutionary mindset that will bring prosperity to all parties involved. The United States will benefit from free trade because the market to purchase U.S. made goods and services will increase dramatically
Given that Australia is the only advanced economy that didn’t fall into a recession as a direct result of the global financial crisis according to the Reserve Bank Chairmen and other leading economist, today, the Australia’s fashion industry is headed for a major crisis, affecting the established
2. Richard M. Johns (2006). The Apparel Industry. 2nd ed. UK, London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. 1-124.
Economic analysts say trading among other countries with no stipulations improve global efficiency in resource allocation (Tupy, 2005). Free Trade delivers goods and services to those who value them most and allows partners to gain from specializing in the producing those goods and services they do best; according to Tupy’s findings, Economists call that the law of comparative advantage. Tupy also states when producers create goods they are comparatively skilled at i.e. Germans producing beer and the French producing wine, those goods increase in abundance and quality. Trade allows consumers to benefit from more efficient production methods, for example, without large markets for goods and services, large production runs would not be economical. Large production runs, in turn, are instrumental to reducing product costs while lower production
Countries are enabled by free international trade to specialise or to focus in the production of the goods in which they have a comparative advantage. Specialisation countries can take the benefit of efficiencies generated from increased output and economies of trade. The size of the firm’s market are increased by the international trade which results in lower average costs and increasing in productivity, as it ultimately leads to increase in production.
Free Trade is the concept we use when referring to selling of products between countries without tariffs, fees, or trade barriers. Free Trade simply is the absence of government interference or numerous restrictions, which has been labeled as laissez fair economics. Free Trade grants easier access to goods and services, promote faster growth for the economy, and also allows for the outsourcing of production of goods, which hurts the economy. Many believe that the free trade hurts developed countries and nations, due to the loss of jobs by international competition and can reduce the country’s GDP. Overall, free trade agreement with other countries can save time and money and increase participating countries economy.
The liberal approach to free trade is heavily associated with the fundamentals of capitalism. Free trade is therefore beneficial to the minority who are capable of manufacturing their goods in societies that have more unskilled labourers and in turn can be compensated less. The labourers in the nations that have the technology to do something better but not necessarily cheaper are at the greatest disadvantage within a liberal free trade political economy.
The theory of comparative advantage explains the benefit of free trade. According to this theory by David Ricardo in the early 19th century, “Both countries will be better off if each specializes in the industry where it has a comparative advantage, and if the two trade with one another.” (Citation) International trade opens up markets to foreign supplier, and domestic companies need to improve their efficiency, boost productivity, and lower cost to increase competitiveness instead of enjoying monopolies or oligopolies that enabled them to keep prices well above marginal costs. On the other hand, international trade also offers domestic companies bigger demands and broader markets; therefore more jobs relevant to export have been created. Furthermore, jobs in the US supported by goods exports pay 13-18 percent more than the US national average (ustr.gov).
Free trade has long be seen by economists as being essential in promoting effective use of natural resources, employment, reduction of poverty and diversity of products for consumers. But the concept of free trade has had many barriers to over come. Including government practices by developed countries, under public and corporate pressures, to protect domestic firms from cheap foreign products. But as history has shown us time and time again is that protectionist measures imposed by governments has almost always had negative effects on the local and world economies. These protectionist measures also hurt developing countries trying to inter into the international trade markets.
”Free trade policies have created a level of competition in today's open market that engenders continual innovation and leads to better products, better-paying jobs, new markets, and increased savings and investment” (Denise Froning). Though Free trade plays a huge role in the economy today because of what and where it is used. Free trade allows for traders to trade across national boundaries and other countries without government interference. Meaning that traders have very few regulations that allow for them to do this without the government intervening. Free trade makes things for traders much easier and also allows for many more jobs in the US, such as exporting jobs, or jobs in the auto industry and plants. Though there are many
The following pages focus on analyzing the effects of globalization on labor markets, which is an important international business topic. The Introduction presents the points of view used in addressing this issue. The Labor Markets section presents some of the most important characteristics of labor markets that must be presented in order to understand how they are affected by globalization. The Key Priorities of Labor Markets section presents some of the most important priorities of governments determined by globalization. The Globalization of Labor Markets and The Effects of Globalization of Labor Markets section provides an analysis of this issue, its effects and its importance. The Conclusions section provides some of the most important issues addressed by this paper.
Globalization can be seen as a major threat for manufacturing jobs in the developed world, however, can also be a benefit for developing world citizens who receive thousands of jobs a year although they don’t receive a high salary. Maurice Allais, a French economist states that this unemployment, of course, has only been able to develop because of the existence of low salaries and insufficient flexibility in the labor market (April 10th, 1999). This indicates that globalization has jeopardized Western countries jobs because companies are moving their establishments to developing countries where they don’t need to pay employees as much and where land is cheaper so overall businesses benefit from this. Also, employees in the developed world are at risk of becoming redundant as they are susceptible to face pay cuts in jobs. Employees are less skilled in the developing world as they don’t receive the benefit of an education like developed countries do. So a company may want to build factories in these countries because environmental laws aren’t as strict. Establishments in these areas provides promising jobs for the local people and allows them to learn new skills, however they are set on minimum wage which in developed world countries, this would not be enough to live on, wherein third world countries this is still a low amount so this is not enough to bring them out of poverty meaning that the only one who benefits from this is the company. Although there have been several arguments against exploitation and oppression, the majority of developing countries do not have existing laws which take minimum wage