Ch.6: Political Economy of Trade Flashcards
Regulatory controls or bureaucratic rules designed to impair the flow of imports into a country
Administrative delays
Tariff levied as a percentage of the stated price of an imported product
Ad valorem tariff
Additional tariff placed on an imported product that a nation believes is being dumped on its market
Antidumping duty
Tariff levied on an imported product and calculated partly as a percentage of its stated price and partly as a specific fee for each unit
Compound tariff
Additional tariff placed on an imported product that a nation believes is receiving an unfair subsidy
Countervailing duty
Restrictions on the convertibility of a currency into other currencies
Currency controls
Exporting a product at a price either lower than the price that the product normally commands in its domestic market or lower than the cost of production
Dumping
Complete ban on trade (imports and exports) in one or more products with a particular country
Embargo
Designated geographic region through which merchandise is allowed to pass with lower customs duties (taxes) and/or fewer customs procedures
Foreign trade zone (FTZ)
Pattern of imports and exports that occurs in the absence of trade barriers
Free Trade
Requirement that WTO members extend the same favorable terms of trade to all members that they extend to any single member
Normal Trade Relations: (formerly “most favored nation status”)
Restriction on the amount (measured in units or weight) of a good that can enter or leave a country during a certain period of time
Quota
Tariff levied as a specific fee for each unit (measured by number, weight, etc.) of an imported product
Specific tariff
: Financial assistance to domestic producers in the form of cash payments, low-interest loans, tax breaks, product price supports, or other forms
Subsidy
Government tax levied on a product as it enters or leaves a country
Tariff
Lower tariff rate for a certain quantity of imports and a higher rate for quantities that exceed the quota
Tariff-quota
Unique version of export quota that a nation imposes on its exports, usually at the request of an importing nation
Voluntary Export Restraint (VER)
Governments impose restrictions on free trade for
political, economic, or cultural reasons
The main political motives behind government intervention in trade include
protecting jobs, preserving national security, responding to other nations’ unfair trade practices, and gaining influence over other nations
Human, economic, and environmental security are closely related to
national security
Certain imports can be restricted in the name of
preserving national security
Protection from import competition main drawback
-the added cost of continuing to produce a good or provide a service domestically that could be supplied more efficiently from abroad
-a policy of protection may remain in place much longer than necessary once it is adopted
“dual uses”
-Most industrialized nations have agencies that review requests to export technologies or products that have dual uses
*–meaning they have both industrial and military applications
Products designated as dual use are classified as such and require
special governmental approval before export can take place.
Products on the dual-use lists of most nations include
nuclear materials, technological equipment, certain chemicals and toxins, some sensors and lasers, and specific devices related to weapons, navigation, aerospace, and propulsion.
Governments often threaten to close their ports to another nation’s ships or to impose extremely high tariffs on its goods if the other nation
does not concede on some trade issue that is seen as being unfair.
1962
United States banned all trade and investment with Cuba in the hope of exerting political influence against its communist leaders. Designed to pressure Cuba’s government to change
The most common economic reasons for nations’ attempts to influence international trade are
the protection of young industries from competition and the promotion of a strategic trade policy.
new trade theorists believe
government intervention can help companies take advantage of economies of scale and become the first movers in their industries
According to the infant industry argument,
a country’s emerging industries need protection from international competition during their development phase until they become sufficiently competitive internationally.
Problems with the “Infant industry argument”
1- it requires governments to distinguish between industries that are worth protecting and those that are not
2- protection from international competition can cause domestic companies to become complacent toward innovation.
3- protection can do more economic harm than good (companies become less competitive and more reliant on protection)
4-argument also says that it is not always possible for small, promising companies to obtain funding in capital markets, and thus they need financial support from their government
First-mover advantages arise because
economies of scale in production limit the number of companies that an industry can sustain.