Good Trade Policies Research Articles

Impact of Trade Openness on Nigerian Economic Growth: An Empirical Investigation, 1970–2011

Geopolitical territories have often engaged in one form of trade or another with their neighbours. That is because no nation in the world can survive without one form of trade with other sovereign states. This study examines the nature of trade openness and economic growth in Nigeria from 1970–2011. The emphasis of this empirical study is to ascertain the impact of trade openness on Nigeria’s economic growth. Causal comparative or ex-post facto research design was adopted in the study. Econometric time series analyses like ADF unit root test, co-integration test and the ordinary least squared (OLS) were employed in the study. The result obtained was used to test the hypotheses, and it was revealed that (i) Trade Openness has positive significant impact on Nigeria’s economic growth; while (ii) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) responds to the shock of Trade Openness value as a proxy of total import and total export divided by GDP as well as change in Exchange Rate (DEXR) within Nigeria’s economy during the period of study. Thus, the co-integration results indicate that there exists long-run relationship among the variables used; hence; the researchers then recommended that there is urgent need for the government to create enabling environment for good trade policy that would attract both foreign and domestic private sector investment in the country. JEL Codes: F13, B27

Export Effect of FTA - Based on Smart Economy

In the Sino-US trade war, China’s exports have been affected to a certain extent. China needs to develop smart economy to eliminate the crisis. In the uncertain situation of Sino-US trade relations, how to maintain the driving force of foreign trade for economic growth has become the top priority of China’s trade policy. It is a good choice to seek new market and open up the original market. Establishing regional trade agreements with trading partners is a good trade policy tool. In order to examine the impact of FTA on China’s exports, this paper selects the data from 2000 to 2011 to test the effect of FTA signed by China on China’s exports. In this paper, the least square estimation method is used. The results show that the FTA signed by China has promoted China’s exports by more than 50%.

Sobre a proteção contra a conduta desleal dos Estados no comércio internacional: as ambiguidades de sua disciplina jurídica e de seus fundamentos no direito da OMC

Resumo A competição pelo mercado internacional mobiliza não apenas empresas, mas igualmente Estados. Com efeito, políticas públicas são adotadas com vistas a aumentar a participação de empresas domésticas no mercado internacional. Por esses motivos, surge o seguinte questionamento: determinadas condutas estatais podem ser consideradas desleais pelas normas do sistema multilateral do comércio, ao desequilibrarem o jogo da concorrência internacional em favor das empresas nacionais? O direito da OMC responde afirmativamente a essa questão, ao autorizar os seus membros a reagirem ao dumping e aos subsídios por meio de instrumentos de defesa comercial. Tal autorização fundamenta-se na finalidade de assegurar uma certa isonomia entre os atores do comércio internacional. Isso, porém, não significa dizer que as medidas antidumping e contra os subsídios sejam sempre benéficas e isentas de custos econômicos. Convém, assim, aprofundar o debate sobre o uso desses instrumentos de defesa comercial.

Trade is Good for Competition, but Competition is Great for Trade

It may seem obvious that good trade policy can promote competition. That is, by opening up a domestic economy to increased trade, additional competitive pressures may be placed on domestic producers, thereby decreasing domestic market power and improving industry performance in the form of lower prices, production that is more efficient and more innovation. On the other hand, although it may appear less obvious, good competition policy can be a means for fostering good trade policies. A competitive domestic economy, as enhanced by appropriate competition policies, can be a good defense against protectionist sentiments. In other words, robust competition enhances domestic prosperity and international competitiveness, which are conducive to political conditions supportive (or at least less obstructive) of freer trade. Indeed, this note argues that the benefits of good trade policy for good competition policy may be overemphasized, while the benefits of good competition policy for good trade policy may not be fully appreciated.

Trade Sustainability in the Forestry Domain: The Case of Malaysia

This study was undertaken to explore the relationship between export and import, in the category of Forestry domain for Malaysia, which includes sub domain (1) industrial roundwood; (2) wood pulp; (3) wood fuel; (4) paper and paper board; (5) sawn wood; (6) recovered paper and (7) wood base panel. Johansen (1991) cointegration method was employed and the period of the study covers annual data from 1961 to 2007. The results clearly show that the export and import of forestry domain is highly cointegrated. This shows trade is indeed sustainable in the domain of forestry and a sign of good trade policies adapted and implemented by the relevant authorities Bi-directional granger causality could also be detected based on VECM (vector-error correction model) method. Imports seem to positively and significantly affect exports, both in the long run and short run, vice versa.

Trade Liberalization and the Poor: A Framework for Poverty Reduction Policies With Special Reference to Some Asian Countries Including India

The paper examines the impact of trade liberalization on the poor through its impact on prices and incomes. A simple framework is developed which traces the impact of trade liberalization on the poor. Some guidelines are given for making trade work for the poor after identifying how the trade regime works. The paper also discusses necessary complementary policies that can make trade policy reform effective. These complementary policies include among others: macroeconomic and microeconomic stability, a competitive exchange rate, flexible labor markets and competent product markets. Also, there is large outstanding agenda that can and should be undertaken by high-income countries that will generate significant benefits for ordinary people in developing countries. These include trade distorting policies in agriculture, disciplining non-tariff measures that restrict trade and removing restrictions on the temporary movement of natural persons supplying services (Stern, 2002). The success of trade reform lies in focusing the reform agenda on agricultural and services sector. It is imminent from the study that these two sectors are key sectors in poverty reduction. The paper provides the basic elements of a good trade policy regime. These provide a benchmark against which to judge the prevailing trade regime and provide guidance for the direction of reforms for the poor in future.

Lessons from Canada's History as a Trading Nation

Michael Hart, a former Canadian trade official, holds the Simon Reisman Chair in Trade Policy in the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and is a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Trade Policy and Law at Carleton and the University of Ottawa. His most recent book is A Trading Nation: Canadian Trade Policy from Colonialism to Globalization (Vancouver: UBC Press 2002).CANADA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TRADING NATION. From their earliest days, Canadians have pursued their livelihood on the basis of exports to bigger and wealthier markets and have benefited from a wide array of imported goods, services, capital, and technologies. Not surprisingly, trade policy, that is, federal and provincial measures to govern and influence the flow of exports and imports, has figured prominently in Canada's development as a nation.Over the past half century, as a result of successful multilateral, regional, and bilateral negotiations, a rules-based international trade order has become a universally accepted part of both intellectual and intergovernmental discourse. The success of that order in integrating national economies into a global economy poses a new series of challenges that require new policies and an expanded regime capable of extending the concepts of national governance to an increasingly integrated global economy.The full impact and ramification of the global economic changes that are driving the demand for new thinking are, of course, only now emerging. For Canada, deepening bilateral integration with the United States provides a second dominating theme confronting Canadian trade policy practitioners. Addressing these challenges will require some appreciation of the road Canadians have traveled over the past century and a half and the lessons they have learned along the way. It is more than a cliche that those ignorant of the past are bound to repeat its mistakes. The past informs the present and makes it both more intelligible and easier to accept. With a firm understanding of the past and a realistic appreciation of the present, the challenges of the future are less daunting.Good trade policy does not come naturallyFor a relatively small economy dependent on trade with larger economies, it is not difficult to identify the hallmarks of 'good' trade policy. Canada's history, however, suggests that good trade policy may be easier to describe than to implement. As in so many areas, the conjunction between good policy and good politics has often proved narrow and difficult to find and to implement. The result is a history rich in lessons for the future.As most practitioners would describe it, good trade policy involves the careful integration of economic, business, legal, and political ideas and values into a coherent set of laws, agreements, regulations, policies, and practices, attuned to the circumstances of the moment but broad enough to endure. From an economic perspective, good trade policy finds ways to move towards more open markets. Government policies that distort the efficient allocation of resources are likely to lower national and global welfare while the removal of such barriers is likely to raise them. Competitive markets and consumer choice are critical contributors to national and individual prosperity and are among the most widely shared values in economics. They are also critical to the goals of the global trade regime. Unfortunately, the benefits of an open economy are all too often apparent only in the long term. To endure, therefore, good economic policies need to be reinforced by political, business, and legal goals.Governments, of course, pursue more than economic objectives. Policies that distort market efficiencies may serve other important societal goals. Efforts to ensure consumer safety, national security, cultural identity, sustainable environments, or distributive justice may affect the operation of the market and the flow of goods and services across national borders. …