Effects of Globalisation on the Construction Industry

Globalization is a continuing and very controlling process. It has now become more or less a natural happening and is not going to stop. Though it has benefitted the world in numerous ways, globalization is also hurting the world frighteningly in a very theatrical way (Samli 2002). It is evident from the fact that the well-organized and increasing human exploitation of the natural resources obtained from the earth outlines the foundation for the scientific assertion "that the world is about to experience a mass extinction every bit as great as that which destroyed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago" (Hedley 2002). It simply means that the humanity is facing global environmental change as one of the most important challenges as a consequence of globalization. With the increase in globalization, the environmental issues are also growing constantly. The issues that once were threatening for a certain group of people on faraway places are now becoming a menace for all

Unlike previous years of solely trading goods, the WTO allowed for trade to consist of property and services among different countries. Countries could now be globalized in all goods their country didn’t have through the use of free trade. The process of trading was revolutionized by new developments in technology as more and more countries began to trade.

Technology changes at an ever-increasing pace in today's world. One of the technologies that has rapidly changed and has impacted the United States the most, is telecommunication. Telecommunication is the exchange of information between two or more parties through the use of technology. From the invention of the telegraph to the Internet, our country has seen a rapid cultural change from the use of such technologies.

One of the very first substantial contributions to promoting international trade, was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) , which established limits on tariffs in order to encourage economic collaboration and assistance between countries. As trade increased after the war, many economist believed that worldwide commercial agreements and the popularization of a free trade market, would help increase profitability in all countries that participated in the agreements. Later on in 1989, free trade advocates urged the Canadian, Mexican and US governments to come together in a free-trade agreement. The agreement between the three countries would substantially eliminate tariffs on agriculture and other products exchanged throughout the three countries. Additionally, it would reduce restrictions on foreign investments placed by industries.

Globalization through free foreign trade allows for specialized goods to circulate on a global scale. This type of economic integration calls for lower tariffs, creating an economy without borders where more consumers and other markets can be easily accessed. Despite obvious economic benefits of globalization, the expansion of foreign trade clearly harms local and domestic economies. With international agreements and organizations such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), the economies become highly competitive, often disturbing the local agricultural farmers that are unable to compete with better and cheaper goods from abroad. Consequently, without taxation, large businesses are more likely

The World Trade Organization, or WTO, was established to grow the global economy and assure its success and safety. The WTO derived from the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trades, or the GATT. The GATT was established in 1948 in order to restore the destroyed global economy after the war. The world needed a united organization

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a global agency that is dedicated to promoting free trade between member nations. It was founded on the idea that the world can be a better place if everyone works together. Before World War II, countries believed in protecting their domestic productions by implementing tariffs, or taxes against goods that are imported. Tariffs make imported goods cost more than domestic goods, thereby protecting the success of domestic producers. Today, most nations support free trade, which is the exchange of goods across borders without restrictions like quotas or tariffs. The elimination of tariffs is meant to allow trade between nations to occur more freely.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was formed in 1994 and created one of the world’s largest free trade zones which includes Mexico, United States and Canada. NAFTA is an example of a multilateral approach to free trade. The multilateral approach states that a country will bargain with its trading partners to remove trade restrictions while the other countries do the same. Another multilateral approach is GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) which regulates international trade. GATT is comprised of representatives of all WTO member countries. The WTO (World Trade Organization) was established January 1, 1995 and is headquartered in Geneva Switzerland. As of November 2015 there were one hundred sixty-two countries that were members.

The World Trade Organization was developed in 1995 out of what was known as the Uruguay Round. Although GATT set rules they mostly dealt with issues just involving simple trade of goods and the distribution of tariffs. The WTO has a broader job than the GATT; “…it oversees multilateral agreements relating not just to good, but also to services, investment and intellectual property.” (Douglas Irwin, 186) The World Trade Organization is an independent organization and decisions are made out of consensus of the member countries involved, not from the World Trade Organization itself. When a country complains about another country and the way they run things that could affect their home country, the WTO must make a decision on what must be done. Once a ruling has been made the losing country must implement one of three strategies:

As society has flourished throughout the years, we have made impacts on our environment that, until recently, went unnoticed. Among these are deforestation, pollution, use of non-renewable energy sources, and destroying the oceans. However, we have reached a point where we have not just noticed these impacts, but realized that a majority of these issues have become irreversible. These issues are not just limited to the United States, but are on a global scale. Western industrial nations are the most to blame for these issues, but their impacts have reached to non-industrial countries as well, many of which do not have the means to limit the impact that the issues will have on their societies. In “Civilizations in Transition,” four

Globalization is defined as the development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide. In current times, we are all influenced by organizations and social networks located thousands of miles away. A key part of the study of globalization is the emergence of a world system- for some purposes; we need to regard the world as forming a single social order. (Introduction to Sociology, Giddens, Anthony, Duneier, Mitchell, Applebaum, Richard, Carr, Deborah, 9th Edition).

Globalization builds good relationship between countries as they exchange products. Trade agreements like NAFTA, WTO, EU and ASEAN etc. are done to make the tie stronger and for the ease of trading with each other. It helps to avoid conflicts among countries, promotes understanding and goodwill.

Globalization has become one of the most influential forces in the twentieth century. International integration of world views, products, trade and ideas has caused a variety of states to blur the lines of their borders and be open to an international perspective. The merger of the Europeans Union, the ASEAN group in the Pacific and NAFTA in North America is reflective of the notion of globalized trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement was the largest free trade zone in the world at its conception and set an example for the future of liberalized trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement is coming into it's twentieth anniversary on January 1st, 2014. 1 NAFTA not only sought to enhance the trade of goods and services across

The origin of the WTO has its roots in the creation of the International Trade Organization (ITO) at the 1944 Bretton Woods ' Conference. While the terms of the ITO charter were being drafted and debated and countries pondered whether or not they would be a part of the organization, representatives from a group of 17 nations assembled in Geneva and concluded an interim agreement (GATT) to lower trade barriers and

The term globalization had started gaining prominence towards the end of twentieth century. Over the period of time, it has become one of the most discussed phenomenon. It is not about the process of international integration of nations and their economic activities, but as a matter fact, it is way more complex involving other factors like environmental challenges, politics and other socio-cultural aspects.