In this first chapter I will look at the historical events that have led up to our current system of trade and the globalization of the production of food that we see today. As throughout this dissertation I will focus mainly on institutions and how they have shaped and continue to shape policy production and the relationship of trade between states. Institutions provide a clear blueprint through which we can see the historical progression of the globalization of food trade, and furthermore, as powerful players, we can see where the influence and discourse behind the drive for international trade comes from. In the second part I will discuss who the drivers of these institutions are, and how this ultimately affects the discourse and …show more content…
Current global events and economic and political issues historically have always influenced attitudes of the public and of governments towards trade. Looking historically from around 1848 during the time of the repealing of the Corn Laws in the UK until the creation of GATT, the international trade system has see-sawed between protectionist policies to liberal policies and back again. Pre-1848 the Corn Laws in Britain had provided a high level of protection for British produced agricultural products, however these laws were repealed in 1848 during a period of political reform in Britain and towards more liberal free trade policies (Krasner, 1976, p. 324). This was during a time of famine in Europe, so freer trade laws were seen as a necessary way of feeding the population. In 1860 the Cobden Chevalier Treaty between the UK and France continued this period of liberal trade policies, and trade between the UK and France flourished. Generally speaking between the 1830s and 1870s trade flourished within Europe, with the UK securing its dominant position of economic hegemon during this period. This was not to last, in the 1860s, due to innovations in technology the price of grain plummeted, as markets were flooded with excess produce. What followed was a series of protectionist policies throughout Europe, with grain prices going down,
Main protectionist policies include tariffs, quotas, embargos and voluntary export restraints, and Adam Smith’s idea of absolute advantage has been developed further to explain international trade. In recent years, protectionism has become closely related to globalization during which the influences of trades spread almost everywhere, so people insist upon the study of social deformities generated by improper policies on international trade and the task of pointing them out with a view to remedy. There are certainly both economic and political purposes of trade
Many historians believe that the most significant “food revolution” was the Neolithic Revolution. This “food revolution” dramatically changed the way food was produced. This change had a major political, social, and economic impact on societies and regions. Due to this, many new advances were produced. This helped civilization to become more sophisticated, more civilized, and more organized.
Over the next forty years, global population is expected to reach nine billion people. This increase in population, combined with expected economic growth, will cause an increase in food demanded and inevitably drain the resources we use for food production. So far, agriculture has been able to respond positively to the rising demand for crop and livestock products. However, farmers are already faced with many new challenges associated with feeding an expanding global population. Farmers must now meet strict new emissions requirements and produce more food on fewer acres while minimizing their environmental footprint. The demand for food is expected to grow substantially in the next couple decades. Some of the factors affecting an increase in food demands are population growth, rising incomes of individuals, food supply factors, and biofuels.
Trade: It is a widespread fact that international trade has increased to unprecedented levels as compared to the nineteenth century. However, it was an era of rapid trade growth, cultural ties and aftermath of Age of Exploration. After the post-World War period, an extensive
Food, a basic need in society, has played a pivotal part in the history of our world. Many early societies formed around the production of food and developed social structures that allowed people to focus on agriculture while others focused on various trades, in turn leading to social stratification. Food has also played a very influential role in the political systems of many societies and has been the driving force of interaction between different regions around the world. During the period of 1450-1750, food played a crucial role in the developments of European, African, and American societies, especially during the era of the triangular trade . Triangular trade, receiving its title due to its involvement of the trade passages between
The industrial food system began with the McDonald brothers and fast food. The food Inc. video talks about the issues with food in supermarkets, and the main one is how it factory modified. The video also talks about how many big businesses there really are in our country that produce food, and how the small amount is it problem. The video states that the average supermarket has 47,000 food products in it. Another thing the video talks about is the condition of the animals that are being slaughtered and made into store product foods and the condition of the workplace in the factories. Most importantly the video talks about how farms are enslaved to these major industries, and have no choice but to stay and work for them because of various reasons.
The accelerating pace of international trade is one of the most dominating, and important features, of contemporary life. Globalization is creating widespread changes for societies, economics, and governments. Since the invention of the steam engine, transportation and communication limits have faded away and, with the development of the Internet, practically disappeared. A case can be made for the proposition that trade, throughout history, has been the main engine for the development of the world as we know it today. In his book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, William J. Bernstein makes this case.
Globalization deals with the break down of traditional boundaries in the face of increasingly global financial and cultural trends. It is a process that results in the growing interconnectedness of the world. Globalization is understood as the force that promotes the global interdependence of economies, political systems, and societies. It creates a complex system of exchanges of goods, services, people, wealth, knowledge, and beliefs. Both Timothy Brook’s Vermeer’s Hat and Sidney Mintz’s Sweetness and Power deal with the role of commodities in world history. Mintz analyzes the history of sugar production and consumption in Europe. Mintz discusses how the fall of sugar as a luxurious and exotic product to a necessity for the most common of the working class was able to command a revolution in diet and lifestyle, during industrialization and the rise of capitalism. Brook tells the story of tobacco’s route from the Americas to Europe. As tobacco became a commercial crop, it allowed for a new system of trade, further connecting Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Both works highlight the importance of each respective commodity in the linking of the global community. The integration of both sugar and tobacco in global trade had a profound impact on the power structures of society in the seventeenth century.
It is said that history may not repeat itself — but it does rhyme. This old adage bears special importance as it pertains to America’s history in trade policy. In both Charles Harley’s, “International Competitiveness of the Antebellum American Cotton Textile Industry,” and Robert Feenstra’s, “How Costly is Protectionism?” we see this connection as the two authors analyze how protectionist policies can be applied to certain situations and more importantly how these policies may transcend across time. Given the Trump administration’s current stance on protectionist policies in international trade, it is critical to understand the lessons which history presents and apply them accordingly. As President Trump attempts to move American trade policy
One of the greatest international economic debates of all time has been the issue of free trade versus protectionism. Proponents of free trade believe in opening the global market, with as few restrictions on trade as possible. Proponents of protectionism believe in concentrating on the welfare of the domestic economy by limiting the open-market policy of the United States. However, what effects does this policy have for the international market and the other respective countries in this market? The question is not as complex as it may seem. Both sides have strong opinions representing their respective viewpoints, and even the population of the United States is divided when it comes to taking a stand in
Nonetheless, clinging free trade policy induced the fall of national competitiveness in the global market and allowed multipolarity which eventually caused the Great War in 1914. Through free trade, Britain tended to emphasise service and financial sector rather than manufacturing (Cain and Hopkins, 1987: 1). In other words, Britain’s free trade, especially in the late nineteenth century was based on the balance of payment and free trade was an instrument to discover new opportunities for foreign investments; this financial dimension was suggestive of mercantilism (Cain and Hopkins, 1986: 517; Hopkins, 1988: 7; WTO, 2007: 35). Also, while the British Empire adhered to free trade policy, other nations namely Germany and the US took protectionist
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.
Ever since the first involvement of government in international trade, many people have posed their opinion about what the role of government should be in it. Different factors are involved when it comes to deciding what this should be. It impacts a lot of people, so in order to do that, trade policy must be properly defined, identify what the roles of government currently are, and their involvement in it, and then analyse what should be their role. Trade policy is how a country carries out trade with other countries (Commercial Policy, n.d). Even though a lot of people support government intervention in international trade, countries would benefit a lot more if the government removes protectionism and promotes free trade instead.
The international trade of goods across the world accounts for approximately 60% of the world Gross Domestic Product (The World Bank, 2014). A great proportion of goods transactions occur every second. The primary question is whether international trade benefits a country as an entirety, and, if so, why would a country implement protective trade policies to restrict particular exports? To address this question, this essay aims to explore the impact of trade on various economic stakeholders, including consumers, producers, labour and government and, furthermore, will compare models and theories with reality to ascertain the true winner/ loser in the international trade market.
Government intervention in the trade process may be either economic or noneconomic in nature. [See Table 7.1.]