US Trade Barriers and Globalization essays

US Trade Barriers and Globalization essays Traditional international trade involves a complex system of trade barriers to ensure the protection of domestic industry and its workers interests. The trade impediments and subsidies include protective tariffs, import quotas, non-tariff barriers i.e. licensing, and export subsidies. Originally, a countrys economy acted independently of other nations. The growing trend ever since the establishment of GATT in 1947 is globalization. In globalization, a country acts as a part of a free trading community consisting of member nations around the globe. As a trading community, trade problems can easily be resolved through negotiations rather than a trade war (McConnell 104-105). The US government employs the use of protective tariffs and export subsidies to protect and aid domestic industry. The two types of tariffs used on imports are the Antidumping (AD) duty and the Countervailing (CVD) duty. These duties shield domestic industry from foreign competition. By raising the price of imports, domestic products become more attractive to the consumer, i.e. the phrase Buy American!. Export subsidies are government payments made to domestic producers. The payments allow lower operating costs, enabling producers to compete on the world market with similarly priced goods and services. An example is US subsidization of agriculture to boost the US food supply on the world market (Import). The Department of Commerce (DOC) oversees the establishment and maintenance of trade orders, i.e. policies implementing tariffs, non-tariff barriers, import quotas, and subsidies. These orders are continually updated as new trade issues arise. Under the DOC is the International Trade Administration (ITA) which ensures the protection of domestic industry from international trade for both imports and exports. Within the ITA is the Import Administration (IA) which specifically handles the imports for ITA. Both the DOC and IA work tog...