Category Archives: Trade Policy

Guest Contribution: “Regional Trade Agreements with Labor Clauses”

The effects on labor standards and trade

Today we are fortunate to have a guest contribution written by Isao Kamata, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs and Economics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. This post is based upon this working paper; the paper also circulates as a Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) discussion paper.


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Supply Chains and the Future of Globalization in the Wake of the Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami

I was sitting in a briefing recently, where I heard how US GDP would be measurably affected by the floods in Thailand –- specifically through the shutdown of production of key auto parts. [0] That reminded me of the supply-chain-propagated impact of events nine months earlier, following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Here’s the trade-related part of the assessment from my colleague Isao Kamata’s article in the La Follette Policy Report, “The Great East Japan Earthquake: A View on Its Implication for Japan’s Economy”:

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“Export or Die”

From today’s Economist, Greg Ip writes:

America’s economic transformation will require businesses to rely less on selling to Americans and more on selling abroad…. The emphasis will be on high-value products and services rather than on labour-intensive items such as furniture and clothing.

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Exports: Productivity, Factor Proportions, and Policy Implications

Bringing New Research Developments to Bear

The President’s goal of doubling exports elicited a lot of discussion, and skepticism. In a previous blog post, I examined the prospects of accomplishing this goal from a macroeconomic perspective. However, a few discussions I’ve had with journalists have reminded me that the frontier of international trade theory has moved considerably over the past few years, even as the much of the economic commentary remains mired in the older models. In this respect, the most recent edition of the Economic Report of the President was extremely welcome, as it brought to bear recent innovations in the trade literature.

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From VoxEU: The Great Trade Collapse

Causes, Consequences and Prospects, edited by Richard Baldwin

From Baldwin’s introductory chapter:

World trade experienced a sudden, severe and synchronised collapse in late 2008 — the
sharpest in recorded history and deepest since WWII. This Ebook — written for the world’s
trade ministers gathering for the WTO’s Trade Ministerial in Geneva — presents the economics profession’s received wisdom on the collapse….

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AWOL on safety regulation and the protectionist surge

Many observers have long worried about protectionist pressures even as the economy operates at full-employment. What, I wonder, will occur when the economy slows appreciably and unemployment increases, against a backdrop where the safety of imports is already at issue? Those of us who believe that a open and free trading regime is preferable to a restrictd trading regime should be concerned.

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