Trade Privileges Research Articles

Raphael Barberini against the English Muscovy Company: the Struggle of International Merchants for Trade Privileges in Russia in 1564—1566

Raphael Barberini against the English Muscovy Company: the Struggle of International Merchants for Trade Privileges in Russia in 1564—1566

From Enemies to Allies: the Mystery of Prince Oleg’s Campaign against Constantinople

This article proposes a rethinking of the main patterns of Rus-Byzantine relations at the turn of the 9th–10th centuries. The Christianization of some groups of Rus’ elite after 860 seems to be plausible, but short-lived. The crisis in relations with Khazaria prompted a search for new trade privileges in Byzantium. The so-called Oleg’s campaign on Constantinople was nothing other than his joining the military service. During the constant struggle with Arabs, the Empire needed to receive new military forces from Rus’. Possibly the recruitments were accompanied by a provocative demonstration of strength. This action was rethought in Rus’ian chronicle writing as the great victory of “Oleg the Prophet”. The joining of Rus’ troops to the Byzantine navy occurred no later than 906, when logothetes Himerios was able to defeat the Muslims. The Rus-Byzantine treaty of 911 strengthened the partnership and fostered the baptism of some Rus mercenaries.

The Visit of Envoy Osip Nepeya to England (1556–1557): Success or Failure of Russian Diplomacy?

Introduction. The visit of the Russian envoy Osip Nepeya to London in 1556–1557 is usually considered as the beginning of the official relations between Russia and England. In the light of modern views about the sixteenth-century diplomacy, this event requires a more thorough research. Methods. The Nepeya’s trip was traditionally viewed as an insignificant episode in the context of general reviews of bilateral relations concentrated mainly on trade. The reasons and possibilities of the military and political rapprochement between England, Spain and Russia in the 1550s, which was the most likely goal of the Nepeya’s journey to England, have never been investigated. Therefore, this article is based on an analysis of numerous multilingual sources. Analysis. The author clarifies the Nepeya’s diplomatic rank and certain previously unknown details of the Muscovites’ stay in London. He analyzes Nepeya’s mission to England in the context of foreign affairs of Ivan IV, Mary Tudor and Philip II Habsburg. Results. It is concluded that the rulers of Spain and England could provide military support to Ivan IV, but they were not interested in military and political alliance with the Muscovy and the war against Turkey. However, establishing official equal relations between England and Russia at the highest level, as well as obtaining trade privileges for Russian merchants was the main result of Nepeya’s trip. This allows us to conclude that the first Russian diplomatic mission in London was successful.

XVII əsr Azərbaycan şəhərlərinin ticarət həyatı Yan Streysin məlumatlarında

Many cities of Azerbaijan, which are important centers of trade and trade, have not lost their significance in international trade for centuries. Silk-cheese, various silky fabrics, tastefully executed by our masters of elegant decorations, textiles, world-famous carpets, etc. spread the glory of Azerbaijan to the whole world. In the XVII century, many European countries tried to establish trade relations with Azerbaijan. The European states sent messages to the rulers of Azerbaijan, tried to trade in Azerbaijan with trade privileges, fought with each other for dominance in the eastern markets. The Netherlands also joined this fight. Well-known Dutch seafarer and traveler Jana Streis wrote a book in the book "Three Journeys" in which she wrote about the trade life of separate Azerbaijani cities. Although he was more concerned with the issues of trade, he also made some notes on the traditions, holidays and the existence of the Azerbaijani people. Jan Streis provided interesting information about the trade life of Irevan, Derbent, Shemakhi, Ardebil, Isfahan, Zenjan, Sultani and other cities.

Corporate Exercise and the Borders of Privilege: The Trades of Paris in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

The efficacy of privilege under the Old Regime, especially as concerning the economy, is an oft-repeated postulate of historiography. The contexts in which it was used often came under the activities of the law or the police, and the privilege of guilds was far from being any exception. There were many struggles in activating these privileges, due to their near-permanent disputation, a disputation which constituted the very heart and the viability of corporatism. This is why we must investigate the application of these privileges. At the same time, without renouncing the idea their real efficacy, we must displace them to their own margins, their borders. At their outer limits, privileges stood in opposition to other trades, which were thus excluded from such and such a sector of sale or manufacture. This did not result in the application of norms and qualities to a finite set of merchandise and commercial positions. Rather, trade privileges were mainly aimed at precluding others from these same norms and qualities, the same merchandise and postures. Privilege also served to blur the indeterminate lines of demarcation concerning those same elements with regards to the holder of said privilege. Thus, we must look at this border as the site of a real social connection, where professional identities and individual careers were continually brought into play, and where, especially, the border between merchant/craftsman categories was constantly shifting.

Trade Privileges (Chrysobulls) of Byzantine Empire to Venice; Era of Komnenos Dynasty

Ortaçağın büyük bir bölümünde dünyanın süper gücü olarak kabul edilen Bizans İmparatorluğu zamanla maruz kaldığı iç ve özellikle dış etkenler sebebiyle hâkimiyetini yitirmiştir. Sınırlarını korumakta her gün biraz daha fazla zorlanan imparatorluk, yüzyıllar boyunca hem doğu hem de batı da amansız mücadeleler vermiştir. Ancak XI. yüzyılda Güney İtalya’ya yerleşip gözünü İstanbul’a diken Normanların ve Anadolu’yu kendi yurtları haline getiren Türklerin varlığı, Bizans İmparatorluğu için kırılma noktası olmuştur. İşte bu ahvalde tahta oturan Aleksios çıkış yolu bulmak amacıyla kendisine bir müttefik aramış ve neticesinde Venedik’e olağanüstü imtiyazlar (chrysobull) tanıyarak onu kendi safına çekmiştir. 
 Bizans İmparatorluğu’nun Venedik’e verdiği ilk imtiyaz aslında II. Basileios devrine tekabül eder. Ancak Aleksios Komnenos’un vermiş olduğu imtiyazlar çok daha geniş kapsamlı olup süreklilik arz etmektedir ve nihayetinde bu durum Bizans ekonomisinin zaman içerisinde Venediklilerin tekeline girmesine sebebiyet vermiştir. Zamansal aralığı çok daha uzun bir dönemi kapsamakla beraber bu makalede Komnenoslar döneminde verilen imtiyazlar ele alınmıştır.

Ideological Origins of the Irish Revolution

In 1782, the Irish obtained legislative and judicial concessions and liberal trade privileges from Britain. The debate over Ireland's political and constitutional status rivaled that which Bernard Bailyn made famous in Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. This essay addresses how the Irish were able to do this and why they did not declare their independence in 1782.

FATALI KHAN’S FOREIGN POLICY ACTIVITY

The article is devoted to the study of main directions of foreign policy of Fatali Khan, the khan of Derbent and Quba, in the 80s of the 18thcentury. The study has shown that Fatali Khan conducted rather an active foreign policy. He had the closest contacts with the Russian Empire. Fatali Khan many times addressed a request to the Imperial Court to get Russian citizenship, sent his ambassadors to discuss and solve various problems including normalization of trading relations with Russia. In his letters, the Khan asked for trade privileges for Derbent merchants, on his part he gave Russian merchants the right for duty-free trade in the Derbent-Quba khanate and other territories under his influence. The author of the article analyzes FataliKhan’s policy on expanding the territory of his possession on account of other Dagestan and Azerbaijan lands, and his allied relations with ShamkhalTarkovsky.The Khan’s relationswith other Dagestan rulers were not easy as they stood against his policy of expanding the borders of the Derbent-Quba khanate. Another direction of the foreign policy of the Khan of Derbent and Qubawas his relationship with the Georgian prince Alexander, whose actions were directed not only against the Kingdom of Kakheti and Kartli, but also against the Russian authorities. Therefore, Fatali Khan refused to support the Georgian prince.

THE BRITISH ON THE CASPIAN SEA IN THE XVI CENTURY

The article features activities of the English merchants and sales agents on the Volga and Caspian trade route to east countries in the 1660–1680. The paper focuses on the positive influence of the British on the development of the Caspian shipbuilding and trade navigation as well as on the increase in the volume of international trade in the basin of the Caspian Sea. As a result of the activity of the English Moscow company, the trade turnovers of West-Caspian shopping centers increased as they got involved in the international commodity turnover. The benefits of the Caspian trade route to Persia were obvious, which explains the persistence of the English Moscow company in their attempts to acquire the right of duty-free trade with the East through Astrakhan and the Caspian Sea, as well as trade privileges from the Moscow tsar and the Persian shah. The main export article that went to England from Caspian areas was raw silk, which brought the British huge profit. As the British continued to develop the West Caspian Sea trade route, other foreigners started to show a greater interest in the region.

The Economic Integration of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Implications for Korea's Trade Policy

The rapid economic development and growth of the People’s Republic of China has accelerated the economic partnership and integration among China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, giving rise to a new Greater China Economy. Since signing the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with Hong Kong in 2003, the Chinese central government has been steadily expanding the scope of economic cooperation through a succession of additional and supplementary arrangements. The bilateral economic partnership between China and Hong Kong will only continue to grow further in the coming years as the Chinese government is favorably inclined toward endowing Hong Kong with special trade privileges and status. Moreover, the growing economic partnership between China and Taiwan, spearheaded by the signing and effectuation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (EC-FA) between the two countries in the June and September of 2010, respectively, will exert an increasing influence on neighboring countries in Northeast Asia. It is thus high time that we carefully examined and analyzed the implications of the increasing attempts at economic integration in Greater China Economy, especially for the Korean government’s trade policy vis-a-vis China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Determinants of foreign direct investment in Lesotho: evidence from cointegration and error correction modeling

Over the past decade, Lesotho has recorded a substantial increase in levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, part of it prompted by trade privileges. Building on the extant literature, this study provides an empirical analysis of determinants of FDI in Lesotho. The study looks at how macroeconomic stability, regulatory frameworks, political stability and market size affect FDI. The evidence from this study shows that some of the foreign enterprises in Lesotho are there to serve a bigger South African market. Also, the country has benefited from a more export-oriented investment promotion strategy. Critical issues however remain that must be addressed if the country is to attract more FDI and retain existing investors .These issues pertain to bureaucratic red-tape, corruption and political instability.

The Economic Integration of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Implications for Korea's Trade Policy

The rapid economic development and growth of the People's Republic of China has accelerated the economic partnership and integration among China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, giving rise to a new Greater China Economy. Since signing the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with Hong Kong in 2003, the Chinese central government has been steadily expanding the scope of economic cooperation through a succession of additional and supplementary arrangements. The bilateral economic partnership between China and Hong Kong will only continue to grow further in the coming years as the Chinese government is favorably inclined toward endowing Hong Kong with special trade privileges and status. Moreover, the growing economic partnership between China and Taiwan, spearheaded by the signing and effectuation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (EC-FA) between the two countries in the June and September of 2010, respectively, will exert an increasing influence on neighboring countries in Northeast Asia. It is thus high time that we carefully examined and analyzed the implications of the increasing attempts at economic integration in Greater China Economy, especially for the Korean government’s trade policy vis-a-vis China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The effectiveness of UN and EU sanctions: lessons for the twenty-first century

A fractious UN Security Council has contributed to the decline in effectiveness of a number of UN sanctions adopted in recent years. Yet they remain a tool of the Council, for example with regard to Libya in 2011. The challenge is to understand how UN, country (US) and regional sanctions (EU, AU, Arab League) can be meaningful in such a climate. The four books reviewed make various suggestions, from clarity of mandate to better evaluating impact. Mikael Eriksson's Targeting peace seeks to evaluate the complexity of the sanctions policy process. He argues that effectiveness comes partly from understanding politics (episodes of sanctions), but also from institutional reform—‘black box’ processes, as he calls them. Sanctions are more successful as part of a wider package. Clara Portela in European Union sanctions and foreign policy examines the use of sanctions as a political tool, including the suspension of development aid and the withdrawal of trade privileges. She shows how the EU plays an important role in signalling and constraining when UN sanctions are weak. For example, informal measures like the 2003 EU decision to invite only dissidents to national day receptions in Havanna resulted in the release of detainees that it had aimed for. The high rate of success of development aid cut-off stands in sharp contrast with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy sanctions. The unintended consequence of good intentions is also highlighted by both Portela and Eriksson—Zimbabwe in particular but also Cote d'Ivoire and Iran pose similar challenges. The imposition of EU or UN sanctions is easier than reaching consensus to lift them, although events in Burma (Myanmar) in 2012 have resulted in smooth suspensions of most US and EU sanctions. All four books show that targeted sanctions cannot be seen as stand-alone measures, nor assessed in isolation. Sanctions are multi-faceted and require detailed assessment of political context, episode and institutional process.

Towards Overcoming the Conflict Between Environmental Tax Leakage and Border Tax Adjustment Concessions for Developing Countries

Border tax adjustments (BTAs) may be able to alleviate concerns of reduced competitiveness for countries introducing environmental taxes and standards, while limiting the risk of companies relocating to developing countries to exploit lax environmental regimes - known as leakage. However, the ability of industrialized nations to offer developing countries special trade privileges for developmental purposes, including border tariff exemptions on exported goods, provides what is referred to in this article as a “leakage loophole.” This allows relocating companies to produce goods in developing countries at high environmental cost and sell them in the industrialized country they relocated from with no adjustment at the border at a potentially lower cost than domestically-produced goods which have internalized their negative environmental externalities.This article considers tax methods that counter the ability of such trade privileges benefiting those wishing to relocate and exploit them as to prevent leakage and ensure any concessions are only available for whom they are intended. In light of current academic debate, this article uses the “best available technology” standard to exemplify the potential grounds for adjustment exemption. Further, it considers the uses of BTAs for any legitimate environmental goal, not simply for carbon emissions.

Can Garment Exports from Cambodia, Laos and Burma be Sustained?

This paper examines institutional and firm-level technological capabilities to assess the capacity of Cambodia, Laos and Burma to sustain garment exports over the long term. Although the preferential access enjoyed by products from these countries in the developed markets has helped attract strong foreign direct investment inflows that have supported rapid growth in employment and exports, the empirical evidence shows that institutional support needs to be upgraded if garment exports from the three countries are to be sustained. Burma and Laos show the least potential to benefit among the three countries from this opportunity, with the former experiencing severe political instability and trade sanctions by the USA and the latter landlocked and endowed with a small labour force. The paper argues that unless the institutional and firm-level technological capabilities are developed further, all three countries will find it difficult to retain a significant presence of garment firms once the trade privileges are withdrawn.

Can America Finance Freedom? Assessing U.S. Democracy Promotion via Economic Statecraft

Recent discourse on U.S. efforts to promote democracy has focused on military activities; especially the strategic and normative perils of democracy promotion at the point of bayonets. This paper explores the United States' use of economic statecraft to foster democratization, with particular attention to democracy incentive and assistance strategies. Incentive approaches attempt to promote democracy from the top-down, by leveraging aid and trade privileges to persuade authoritarian leaders to implement political reform. Assistance approaches aim to induce democratization from the inside, through funding and technical assistance to state institutions, and from the bottom-up, by providing support to civil society and elections. This study finds that while top-down incentive approaches can stimulate democratic change, this strategy tends to work only when aid and trade benefits are conditional; that is, when benefits are withheld until recipient states meet rigorous democratic benchmarks. Washington has historically eschewed democratic conditionality, however, and thus can claim very few aid-induced or trade-induced democratization events. Scant evidence exists to demonstrate that inside approaches—that is, institutional aid—possesses significant capacity to induce democracy. It is the bottom-up approach—empowering the masses to compel democratic change—that has registered the greatest number of democracy promotion successes.

Garment manufacturing in Cambodia and Laos

This paper uses the systemic quad to examine the strength of the embedding support and firm-level technological capabilities of garment firms in Cambodia and Laos. Although garment exports have surged in both countries, it is argued in the paper that its sustenance will require institutional capacity building. Laos is the more disadvantaged of the two countries as it is landlocked and endowed with too small a labour force. The paper argues that unless the institutional and firm-level technological capabilities are developed further, both countries will find it difficult to retain a significant presence of garment firms once the preferential trade privileges are withdrawn.

Between ambition and ambivalence: Italy and the European Union's Mediterranean policy

This article reviews Italy's role in the various phases of the European Union's policy towards the Mediterranean: thead hocpolicy of the 1950s and 1960s, the Global Mediterranean Policy developed in the 1970s, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership agreed in Barcelona in 1995, the European Neighbourhood Policy signed in 2003, the proposal launched by French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2006 for a Mediterranean Union. The overall argument is that the various Italian governments have carried out an ambivalent and often reactive policy: on the one hand, they have consistently tried to promote a Mediterranean dimension in the European Union, though without upsetting the United States; on the other hand, they have limited the extension of trade privileges to exports from North Africa. While the end of the Cold War provided a new opportunity for Italy to play a more assertive role in the international arena, the two coalitions that have alternated in power have substantially failed to move the Mediterranean to the centre of Italy's and the European Union's external policy. A partial change of attitude – yet a reactive policy – emerged under the second Prodi Government, when Italy and Spain became close allies in an attempt to counter-balance the new activist policy of Sarkozy.

Balancing intellectual property rights with public obligations in developing nations: Lessons from Africa

As the use of digital technology expands across the southern African region, fundamental democratic principles of private ownership and public access of digital information come into conflict with a range of national and international laws. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted in developing countries regarding the effects of intellectual property law. Part of the reason for the limited number of studies is that few developing countries have altered their intellectual property systems sufficiently (since signing international agreements) for researchers to detect changes in patterns. Until such research exists, and in recognition of current international pressures, there is a need for leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries to resist adopting restrictive copyright regimes to facilitate international trade agreements and not to use copyright issues as pawns in negotiating trade privileges. Instead, protection of information bases, technology assets, and dissemination of knowledge should be part of a framework which supports national development, considers human rights policies, and expands the talents of the currently impoverished. Expanding public awareness and understanding of copyright issues should be a priority in the SADC countries. A lack of a full understanding of the benefits of copyright protection, along with an underlying belief that copyright infringement is justified, or at most harmless, undermines the rewards for innovators within the society.

FDI, AGOA and Manufactured Exports by a Landlocked, Least Developed African Economy: Lesotho

Lesotho, a resource-poor country located inside South Africa, is now Africa's largest exporter of apparel to the US. Its performance, very unusual for Africa, relies heavily on Asian investors and trade privileges. This article traces the origins of FDI in Lesotho and the determinants of its export competitiveness, showing that apparel production suffers from low productivity, poor skills and weak local links. Its prospects after AGOA (the African Growth and Opportunities Act) remain uncertain unless the government addresses these structural problems. Lesotho holds important lessons for industrial development in Africa, going beyond creating a good investment environment.