Cross-border Movement Of Goods Research Articles

The COVID-19 Border Closure and Local Economic Development in a South African Border Town

Border towns benefit from cross-border movement of goods, services and people. Many suffered setbacks when governments responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by closing borders. We investigated how the lockdown regulations affected the economy of Ladybrand, a small South African town near Lesotho. We found that local planning was not taking advantage of the benefits of a border town economy and was unprepared for border closure. Retail outlets were the hardest hit, followed by the transport, services and health sectors. Dilapidated infrastructure and poor service delivery made it difficult for the town to cope with the effects of the border closure.

JOINT TRANSIT PROCEDURE: STRATEGY AND STATE OFIMPLEMENTATION IN UKRAINE

Introduction. The article examines the state of implementation in our country of national legal and organizational-administrative measures provided for the involvement of Ukraine in the common transit procedure in force in the European Union, based on the use of the New Computerized Transit System. The main attention is paid to the legal prerequisites, as well as to the current international and domestic standards, which determine the strategic tasks and their corresponding directions in the organization of the implementation of the joint transit procedure by Ukraine. The set of measures implemented in the process of deployment of the new transit system, which will support effective customs control, promote legal trade and cross-border movement of goods, use modern technologies and meet the requirements of both the customs service of Ukraine and economic operators, has been analyzed. In the conclusions to this article, proposals are formulated regarding the development of the joint transit procedure in Ukraine and further improvement of its functional capabilities. The purpose of the article is to find out the current state of implementation of national legal and organizational and administrative measures aimed at the implementation of the joint transit procedure by Ukraine, with the determination of directions for its further improvement. Methods. The methods of comparison, analysis, and synthesis were used during the study of the state of implementation of national legal and organizational-administrative measures, provided for the involvement of Ukraine in the common transit procedure in force in the European Union (EU). Results. The complex of measures implemented in the process of deployment of the new transit system in accordance with the provisions of international and national standards was characterized, which made it possible to determine and propose directions for promoting the proper functioning and development of the joint transit procedure, in particular, with regard to the further harmonization of national regulatory and legal acts on issues of application, filling out and processing customs declarations in accordance with the provisions of international legislation, improving the variability of the use of transit simplifications, information support for employees of the customs service of Ukraine and economic operators. Perspectives. It is advisable to continue scientific research on the use of the joint transit procedure in Ukraine, taking into account the expected updates of international legal norms regarding the implementation of mutual administrative assistance in relation to requirements, the establishment of rational operational cooperation, coordination and information exchange with other customs organizations, including for the purpose of managing transit operations and their tracking.

The cross-border crime and security of the movement of goods in the European Union – the role of the Border Guard of the Republic of Poland

Issues related to broadly understood border security are discussed by the EU institutions and Member States, as well as attracting interest from various academic communities. The discussion has multiple dimensions. Regarding the cross-border movement of goods, the role of the security guardian is most frequently attributed to customs authorities, often without acknowledging the importance of another border service, i.e. the border guard. Therefore, the article’s aim is to analyse the role of the Border Guard of the Republic of Poland in the process of ensuring the security of the cross-border movement of goods in the European Union and actions to combat cross-border economic crime in the context of movement of people. This article is divided in introduction, two parts presenting the research results, and conclusions. The first part describes the essence of security and threats in the cross-border movement of goods in the context of cross-border movement of people, the second one refers to the role of the Border Guard of the Republic of Poland as the guardian of the security of the European Union’s external border. The conclusion presents recommendations for maintaining a high level of protection and border surveillance in the cross-border movement of goods. This article is theoretical, with elements of comparative analysis.

Africa: Her Space-Time Convergence Status

Today, the research interest on the state of mobility and accessibility of a place is growing everywhere. Previous studies on space-time convergence have shown that, the world has become ‘flat’ due to fastness in accessibility of places by goods, information and the people. Whereas this is true, the prevailing state of space-time convergence in Africa is still an outstanding issue of concern. This paper aims to fill this gap through story telling of the information borrowed randomly from existing literature on the subject matter. The results obtained show that, Africa is yet to fully get integrated proper into the global networked society because of her huge transport and communication infrastructure gap. The paper concludes with a recommendation that, African leaders should endeavour to fix the infrastructure gap and must at the same time, purpose to allow a faster cross border movement of goods and people to help speed up space-time convergence to match the global mobility pace.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

The purpose and objectives of this article are to provide a comparative analysis of the development of the international economic system and international law. Methodological approach. The work uses general scientific methods, as well as the method of legal interpretation and the comparative legal method. Results and conclusions. The article reveals the concept of the international economic system (MEA) as particularly significant for the most important sections of a number of sciences - economics, political science, philosophy, and law. It is shown that the MEA is the reality that each science studies from its own point of view. It is in the international economic system - on the territory of all States of the world-that the production of goods and services takes place, commodity flows are formed, and the cross-border movement of goods, services, financial instruments, investments, and labor is carried out. National law and international law serve as a kind of legal superstructure over these realities; through the two systems of law, States manage processes and regulate all types of relations in the international economic system. The originality and value of the work lies in the identification of the relationship between the MEA and international law. The author examines how international law is involved in the process of regulating international economic relations at all levels and how it will change along with the transformation of the MEA, which is taking place in our time.

Effects of One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) Trade Facilitation Initiative on the Movement of Goods along the Rwandan Customs Posts

Despite a critical role played by cross-border movement of goods in international trade, the former is made complex and unpredictable by various factors. In Rwanda as is the case in other parts of the world, one stop border posts (OSBPs) adopted at the East African Community level have been implemented and operationalised to facilitate cross-border trade and movement of goods. This paper aims to assess the effects of OSBPs trade facilitation initiative on the movement of goods along the Rwandan customs posts using multi-level model. The main findings reveal that the implementation of OSBPs initiative has significantly and positively affected the movement of goods along the Rwandan customs posts giving an impression that the implementation of OSBPs trade facilitation initiative has considerably contributed to the improvements in the level of trade facilitation; and hence, streamlined and expedited the movement of goods along the Rwandan customs posts by removing unnecessary barriers.

RISKS OF FOREIGN TRADE PARTICIPANTS IN THE FIELD OF CALCULATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS PAYMENTS

Purpose of research. The article deals with the problems of forming a business environment in foreign trade, taking into account the construction of a risk-based compliance management model by controlling state bodies. The purpose of the study is to establish and identify the features of identifying risks of participants in foreign economic activity and the state in the calculation and administration of customs payments, respectively. This is necessary not only for the administration of customs duties and taxes, but also for determining the main directions for the development of foreign trade activities of the Russian Federation. Conclusions. As a result of the research, the author comes to the conclusion that risk management occupies a special place in the system of managing the compliance of foreign trade activities with the criteria established by state regulatory (customs, tax) authorities. However, in addition to managing tax and customs risks, which according to current legislation are recognized as violations of the rules established by law, it is necessary to change the system for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the Supervisory authorities themselves. Currently, the relationship between the risk management system and the violations of customs and other legislation themselves is mostly reduced to the implementation of the customs authorities ' fiscal task. According to the majority of importers, the application of the risk management system has a single goal - to increase the costs of participants in foreign economic activity associated with cross-border movement of goods. On the part of participants in foreign economic activity, it is necessary to restructure the strategy of interaction with regulatory authorities. In these circumstances, the key areas of such interaction are the development of the Institute of authorized economic operators, its sub-Institute of authorized exporters, as well as the creation of a self-regulating organization in the field of foreign trade that represents the interests of not only Russian exporters, but also importers.

Call-Off Stock Simplification in Bulgaria – Possible or Not?

The call-off stock simplification can provide benefits for both suppliers and recipients in the cross-border movement of goods within the European Union. Bulgaria is one of the Member States that apply this arrangement. In this article, the author provides an overview of the current regime in Bulgaria and how it is expected to change from the beginning of 2020.

Uneasy Neighbors: Iran and the Kurdish Regional Government

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 41, No. 2, Winter 2018 Uneasy Neighbors: Iran and the Kurdish Regional Government Nader Entessar* Introduction The purpose of this article is to examine the evolving relationship between Iran and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). The main thesis of the article is that despite some initial reservations about the emergence of a self-governing autonomous government in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iran has now accepted the permanency of the KRG. As a result, both Iran and the KRG have focused on commonalities of interests between them and have sought to develop a functioning framework for expansion of their socioeconomic and political relations. Notwithstanding the desire of both sides to develop amicable and long-lasting relations between themselves, a variety of regional and domestic factors have served as impediments to the blossoming of Tehran-Erbil relations. The evolution of the KRG in the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing 1990-91 Gulf War presented new political and security challenges for both Iran and Turkey. Iran’s policies towards the nascent Kurdish self-governing entity were driven by the following five considerations : • Opposition to Iraq’s disintegration and concern about the ultimate transformation of the KRG from a semi-autonomous entity to a fullfledged independent government. Consequently, Iran did not take steps towards recognizing the KRG. • Keeping an open channel of communication with the KRG and providing support, albeit minimally and cautiously, to efforts by the KRG to prevent the full restoration of the Bath’i control over northern Iraq. 73 *Nader Entessar is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at the University of South Alabama. His books include Kurdish Ethnonationalism and Kurdish Politics in the Middle East. 74 • Identifying areas of common security interests with the KRG, especially with respect to border security, and seeking to convince the KRG to curtail the activities of the armed Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraqi Kurdistan. • Preventing northern Iraq from turning into an anti-Iranian theater of operations and reducing, or ideally eliminating, the growing influence of the United States and Israel there. • Preventing the spread of pan-Kurdish nationalism among the Iranian Kurds and minimizing the spill-over effects of Kurdish ethnonationalism into Iran.1 Between 1991 and 2003, the Islamic Republic of Iran found it difficult, and at times impossible, to develop and sustain a consistent policy towards the KRG. Although both sides maintained some relations with each other as reflected in cross-border movement of goods, the deep political fissure between Iran and Iraq made any meaningful relations between the two countries, even in the KRG-controlled northern Iraq, extremely difficult. The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which led to the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein’s regime and the subsequent establishment of a federal structure in Iraq, allowed the Iranian government to expand its sociopolitical and economic outreach to both the new Iraqi government and the KRG. The Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, and the opening of Iranian consulates in Karbala, Basra and Erbil, and the concomitant opening of Iraqi consulates in Mashhad, Ahvaz and Kermanshah led to a major expansion of economic and political ties between Iran and Iraq as well as between Iran and the KRG. Today, the KRG’s representative office in Tehran serves as a de facto embassy. Moreover, in recent years, contacts between high-level officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the KRG have become routinized, and many top-level Iranian and KRG officials have developed working relationship with each other; something that would have been cumbersome at the turn of the 21st century when Saddam 1 For a brief analysis of Iran’s concerns towards the development of an independent Kurdistan in Iraq see Alex Vatanka, “Why Iran Fears an Independent Kurdistan,” The National Interest, http://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-iran-fears-independent-kurdistan10950 ?page=show (accessed 25 July 2014), and Kaveh Qoraishy, “Tahavolat-e Kurdistan-e Aragh va Kurdhay-e Iran,” Rooz Online, http://www.roozonline.com/persian.opinion/ opinion-article/-752371314e.html (Accessed 3 July 2014). Hussein was still in power in Iraq.2 Notwithstanding the aforementioned improvement in Iran-KRG relations since...

Cross-Border Price Differentials and Goods Market Integration in East Asia

As cross-border movements of goods, capital, and labor are intensifying, it is likely that goods markets in East Asia will become increasingly integrated. This study investigates the current state of goods market integration in East Asia by measuring the extent of cross-border price differentials. Specifically, this study shows that compared with the European Union, East Asian markets are neither sufficiently integrated nor are they showing any price convergence over time.

Economic Interests and the European Union: A Catalyst for European Integration or a Hindrance?

This special issue of The British Journal of Politics & International Relations focuses on the role of economic interests in European integration. Economic interest groups are defined as representative associations that pursue—as their overriding objective—the material economic interests of their members. They include peak and sectoral business associations, trade unions, professional associations, farmers’ unions and associations representing small-scale businesses, shopkeepers and tradespeople. Economic interests can also include individual companies that lobby governments directly. Groups that represent political actors which do not focus explicitly on the material interests of their members and economic goals would be excluded from this definition: for example, women’s groups as well as nongovernmental associations that focus on environmental or human rights issues. Existing studies of the role of economic interests in European integration fall into one or more of four camps, none of which has entered into a sustained analysis of the role of all major economic interests and European integration. First, there are studies where the role of economic interests is part of and is seen in terms of a particular theory or analytical approach that makes broader claims about European integration. Andrew Moravcsik (1998), notably, examines a limited range of economic interests in the context of his liberal intergovernmentalist study and understands national policy formation in terms of competing economic, and principally business, interests. Neo-functionalists emphasise the role of interests that operate supranationally and independently of the activities of national governments to shape EU-level policy developments. For neo-functionalists, economic interests proactively support the successive integration of various sectors of the economy in order to diminish the transaction costs created from the cross-border movement of goods, services, capital and people. Neo-Gramscians (van Apeldoorn 2002; Bieler 2001) focus upon the pro-integration role of transnational business and financial interests and the complex positioning of trade unions. In the second camp, there are studies of a broad range of interest groups operating at the EU level but not economic interests per se. Justin Greenwood and Mark Aspinwall’s (1998) edited volume explores EU-level policy-making as a collective action problem involving various interests. Greenwood (2007) has undertaken the

The Trade-Security Nexus: The New Reality in Canada-U.S. Economic Integration

...the relatively unrestricted mobility of capital between Canada and the United States has done more to integrate the economies of the two countries than any other factor except geography. (Aitken 1961,19) ...the further regional economic integration proceeds in other parts of the world the more vital will relations with Canada become for the national interests of the United States... [at the same time] If Canada wants the United States to do something she must be able to prove that it is in the interests of the United States to do it. (Aitken 1961,155-6) ********** Hugh Aitken said more than can be captured in the above quotes in his prescient book, American Capital and Canadian Resources, published more than four decades ago. He also noted the differences between the way integration was unfolding in North America and in Europe, the interrelationship between economic integration and continental defense, and the challenges the increasingly intimate relationship with the U.S. posed, and would continue to pose, for Canada (Aitken 1961, ch. 1). Aitken was describing a relationship that was the result of decisions of corporate and individual investors, not government policy (2) (though some U.S. government concerns such as security of supply of certain key commodities in the context of the Cold War did influence U.S. corporate investment in Canadian resources). The questions Aitken raised about the implications of Canada's growing economic ties with the U.S. remain at the center of the Canadian agenda. The immediate economic impact of closure of the border following the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, emphasized the differences in national priorities. For Canada the issue was and remains economic security, which translates into unimpeded access to the U.S. market for Canadian exports and imports. For the U.S. the issue was and continues to be homeland security, in which a secure border trumps economic connectedness with Canada and Canadian economic dependence. This article examines Canada-U.S. economic relations in light of the now critical connection between trade and security. It demonstrates the linkages between the two economies and the asymmetrical character of that relationship and argues that lack of attention to the linkage between trade and security could hinder the hitherto predictable cross-border movement of goods on which Canada's economic health has come to depend. The article begins with some discussion of two of the analytical prisms through which the bilateral relation ship has been understood. The second section outlines the origins of bilateral economic ties in the nineteenth century, and then in the third attempts to measure the extent of Canada-U.S. economic integration, with particular attention to trends since the implementation of Canada- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSETA) in 1989 and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. This section of the paper also looks at business attitudes toward the relationship. The fourth part of the article quickly reviews impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The conclusion examines some of the factors shaping the environment in which the next stages in the relationship will unfold. 1. Analytical Perspectives on the Canada-U.S. Economic Relationship Two of the many analytical paradigms on Canada-U.S. relations inform this article. The first is the literature on economic integration, particularly the European experience, and the way in which, implicitly or explicitly, our understanding of what has occurred (and is occurring) in Europe shapes our analysis of the Canada-U.S. (and sometimes the Canada-U .S.-Mexico) relationship. The second is the Keohane and Nye conclusion about lack of issue linkage in the Canada-U.S. relationship, the idea that since World War II differences of views between the two-on-one issue in their relationship normally did not affect the outcome of bargaining on other unrelated matters (2001, 146-51). …