Structural Modifications of International Business Theory and Policy in the Time of Covid-19

Abstract

The main aim of this work is the presentation of the structural modifications of contemporary international business. International trade in the XXI century has been strongly affected by the force of the economic crisis and COVID-19. The changes are evident in the growing importance of international trade to national economies and to domestic groups within those economies, in the closer linkages between trade and other international issues. Despite the undeniable benefits of the multilateral WTO forum for trade liberalization, the rapid increase of North-South bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Areas (FTAs) begs a systematic explanation for why some forums are prioritized relative to others. This work presents the mercantilist tendencies in the international trade policy, the theory of public choice in foreign trade policy, protectionist pressures in different political systems, the level of protectionist pressures, food producers’ pressure, and conflicts between the tendencies to sustainable international trade liberalization and environmental protection, the increasing importance bilateral agreements in the foreign trade policy and international economy in the time of COVID-19.