Discussion Forum 4
In Discussion Forum 4, post your response to one of the following discussion questions. Your initial posting should have no less than 300 words and your responses should be comprehensive. When citing research and journal articles, be sure the full reference is added at the end of your posts in APA format.
Assess whether or not countries should trade commodities for loans, and discuss the pros and cons. Consider the following article in your response: Opaque Oil-Backed Loans Could Fuel Next African Debt Crisis.
Technologies are amazing and efficient. However, there are negative effects such as cybercrime, hacking, piracy, vulnerability of domain names, censorship on social media by tech firms, and surveillance invading people’s privacy. How could these serious consequences be counteracted? Consider the following article in your response: These 5 Technologies Have the Potential to Change Global Trade Forever.
Select a country and describe how its government encourages foreign direct investment (FDI). Illustrate how a specific international firm would successfully invest in the country with FDI.
Using Porters national competitive advantage trade theory, describe a manufacturing operation that a specific international firm has in a host country. In your post, include the advantages of manufacturing the product(s) in the geographical location and indicate the countries the products are exported to.
Define the role of trade barriers in the international marketplace, and explain how trade barriers can lead to either success or failure for the international firm. Then, provide an example of a specific trade barrier and explain its importance to the success or failure of a known product or service in a particular country.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce and is responsible for developing export control policies, issuing export licenses, and prosecuting violations. The BIS grants export licenses for sensitive goods and technologies, balancing commercial interests against national security interests. It enforces sanctions and embargoes and works with other countries on export controls. Since 9/11, BIS has placed emphasis on restricting the export of technologies that could be used to create weapons of mass destruction. View the Commerce Control List and determine two items from the list that could be considered dual-use items (for example, cell phones being used to detonate explosive devices). Explain how the items could be used for harmful causes. Then, state which countries you would export the items to and explain how you would work with your freight forwarder to ensure U.S. export regulations are complied with.
The Human Rights Watch reports that globally more than 70 million children work in hazardous conditions in agriculture, mining, and domestic labor. Some countries force adults to work in poor conditions as well. Do you think that governments should consider human rights when granting preferential trading rights to countries? What are the arguments for and against granting preferential trading rights to countries that violate basic human rights?
Evaluate the pros and cons of a country accruing a large trade deficit (importing more than exporting) with a trading partner, instead of maintaining a balance of trade.
Describe a product idea you have for an international firm and how you would globally source components needed to produce it. Would you completely outsource production or manufacture in the home country? Consider the costs of financial, environmental, quality control, time, intellectual property rights (IPR), and unforeseen events occurring in countries.
Unions in developed nations often oppose imports from low-wage countries and advocate trade barriers to protect jobs from what they often characterize as unfair import competition. Is such competition unfair? Do you think that this argument is in the best interests of (a) the unions, (b) the people they represent, and/or (c) the country as a whole? Consider the National Right to Work Committee in your response.
Research how you would finance your U.S.-based export firm from government sources such as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), or other sources. Analyze whether or not you would also purchase political risk insurance