The Role Of The International Trade Environment On A Free Market Type Environment Versus One With Heavy Government Regulations Essay

Robert Lansing address how Great Britian would capture ships and inconveniently take them to British ports for inspection (Doc 3). America’s Trade during the War fell, because the British would take the ships in fear that they were war ships attacking them. This led to a decline in Wilson’s Free Trade. The cargo on the ships was used by the time the British ports let the ship free, causing a major disruption in our economy. The report from the American Customs Inspector conveys how the Lusitania was in fact loaded with ammunition (Doc 6).

Following World War II, economic policies were marked by two major trends. On one hand, industrialized economies gradually removed trade barriers. These policies were based on the idea that free trade is not only a factor for economic prosperity of nations, but also for the promotion of peace. On the other hand, economic policies of many developing countries with the exception of few countries in Southeast Asia have been conditioned by the belief that the key to development rests in the establishment of a powerful manufacturing sector, and that the best way to create such an area was to protect local industries from international competition through substitution imports policies.

Free Trade V.S. Command Economy = == == == ==

After the end of the World War II the world faced the challenges of economic and social recovery. The majority of developing countries based their economies on Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI), the state-oriented approach to a trade and economic policy. ISI supports the replacement of import with domestic production in order to reduce foreign dependency. This protectionist policy dominated in developing countries, especially in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, during the first 30 years after the World War II. By 1980s, when the main gains of ISI were exhausted and it demonstrated its inefficiency, the countries of East Asia adopted a new development strategy. Consequently, this new export-oriented and market-friendly strategy, so-called East Asian model, has determined the successful economic and trade policy of East Asian countries during the next several decades. To understand the reasons of the shift from ISI to the East Asian model, it is needed to carefully examine and contrast these two approaches and their supporting theories.

There is no doubt that increasing in international trade is supporting the economic growth across the world, raising incomes and creating jobs. However, international trade can also some create economic obstacles, such as the international context and the market policy and regulations of each country, and consequently it can be said that the effects would have positive and negative sides, and it is useful to mention all of them and to take them into consideration.

Trade policy in developing countries obtained major influence from the changing views in economic development, namely, inward looking and outward looking (Moon, 1998). For about 3 decades after World War II (WWII), the trade policy of developing countries relies on inward-looking development. This type of development is implemented through autarky trade policies to protect country’s local manufacture industry. There are so many critics delivered during the inward looking development implementation. Then, around eighties, most of developing countries started to change its trade policies in to more outward-looking policy. Those two policies conflicts each other’s. One emphasizes the importance of the principle of comparative advantage, campaigning free market and export oriented policies, while the other highlights to foster domestic market through Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI).

A widespread view developed among economists and policymakers in the early post World War II period Import substitution policies were popular amongst developing economies was that the best way for these countries to develop more rapidly was to stimulate industrialisation by adopting import-substitution policies. At the time, there seemed to be a number of good reasons for such an approach. The policy makers of the newly independent nations were keenly aware not only that most of the countries from whom they obtained independence had much higher per capita income levels and were much more industrialised but that their former rulers had imposed economic policies in the past which discouraged industrialisation within the new nations and industrialisation seemed to offer the possibility of achieving faster growth, higher per capita income levels and the economic and military power needed for national security. An economically sensible way of achieving industrialisation seemed to be to restrict imports of manufactured goods for which there already was a domestic demand in order both to shift this demand toward domestic producers and permit the use of the country’s primary- product export earnings to import the capital goods needed for industrialisation. There also appeared to be a number of examples where high levels of import protection contributed positively to industrialisation. Although Great Britain had adopted a policy of free trade during its period of rapid growth in the

Trade policies are developed by foreign and domestic governments in an effort to influence net imports or net exports (Cengage, 2009). Two common policies are the use of tariffs and import quotas. As XYZ expands into Asia, Mexico and Canada it will want to factor the costs of tariffs and the possible effects of the limitations of import quotas. What is interesting is that the basic premises of supply and demand, imports and exports, equilibriums and trade balances are all meant to lead to an efficient market place (Cengage, 2009). Tariffs, wage restrictions, quotas and other such policies can create inefficient markets. So XYZ will have to take the basic study of economics and then apply the effects of various trade policies and restrictions. Another factor of government that influences the

Free trade has long be seen by economists as being essential in promoting effective use of natural resources, employment, reduction of poverty and diversity of products for consumers. But the concept of free trade has had many barriers to over come. Including government practices by developed countries, under public and corporate pressures, to protect domestic firms from cheap foreign products. But as history has shown us time and time again is that protectionist measures imposed by governments has almost always had negative effects on the local and world economies. These protectionist measures also hurt developing countries trying to inter into the international trade markets.

I agree that the free market would run into serious problems undercutting its sustainability without regulation; however, the free market is as much a creation of the state that is highly influenced by interest groups. Interest groups play an important role in the formation of a regulation. Interest groups help candidates get elected into government. In return, interest groups can lobby for leniencies in policies that serve their interests. For example, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has lobbied the government of pipeline regulation, streaming of Fisheries Act, tax credits, and greenhouse gas regulations (as per Macleans.ca, The 10 lobby groups with most contact). If these private interests didn’t exist, would the general public lobby to increase tax credits to corporations? I don’t believe this is the case.

Mercantilism was a sixteenth-century economic philosophy that maintained that a country's wealth was measured by its holdings of gold and silver (Mahoney, Trigg, Griffin, & Pustay, 1998). This recquired the countries to maximise the difference between its exports and imports by promoting exports and discouraging imports. The logic was transparent to sixteenth-century policy makers-if foreigners buy more goods from you than you buy from them, then the foreigners have to pay you the difference in gold and silver, enabling you to amass more treasure. With the treasure acquired the realm could build greater armies and navies and hence expand the nation’s global influence.

Adam Smith outlined that the price mechanism in international trade is like an ‘invisible hand’ that coordinates the consumption and production decisions in a well-functioning market economy (Kerr and Gaisford 2007). However, there is need for the government to intervene in free market economies in order to implement trade regulations and avoid market failure that is associated with negative externalities. International trade is affected by government’s interventions that include direct participation in supply and purchase of essential goods and services, through regulation, taxation and other indirect participation influences. The free markets enhance market efficiency through ensuring that prices are determined by the

Ever since the first involvement of government in international trade, many people have posed their opinion about what the role of government should be in it. Different factors are involved when it comes to deciding what this should be. It impacts a lot of people, so in order to do that, trade policy must be properly defined, identify what the roles of government currently are, and their involvement in it, and then analyse what should be their role. Trade policy is how a country carries out trade with other countries (Commercial Policy, n.d). Even though a lot of people support government intervention in international trade, countries would benefit a lot more if the government removes protectionism and promotes free trade instead.

The country can maximize their wealth by putting the resources in the most competitive industries. Government created comparative advantage rather than free trade because now easier moves the production processes and the machines into countries that can produce more goods (Yeager & Tuereck, 1984). However, many countries now move to new trade theory suggests the ability firms to limit the number of competitors associated with economic scale (reduction of costs with a large scale of output) (Krugman, 1992). The comparative advantage occurs when two-way trade in identical products, it will useful where economic scale is important, but it will create problem with this model. As a result, government must intervene in international trade for protection to domestic firms (Krugman, 1990)

The international trade of goods across the world accounts for approximately 60% of the world Gross Domestic Product (The World Bank, 2014). A great proportion of goods transactions occur every second. The primary question is whether international trade benefits a country as an entirety, and, if so, why would a country implement protective trade policies to restrict particular exports? To address this question, this essay aims to explore the impact of trade on various economic stakeholders, including consumers, producers, labour and government and, furthermore, will compare models and theories with reality to ascertain the true winner/ loser in the international trade market.