Syracuse University
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Global Security & Development Program
International Trade and Economic Negotiation
IRP/PPA 715-2
Fall Term, Academic Year 2012
Wednesdays
September 5—December 12
(no class 11/21)
6pm—8:45pm
Bennett Caplan Paul J. Fekete
Tel: (240) 744-7602 Tel: 202-686-1759
Email: Email:
International Trade and Economic Negotiation Course Outline
The purpose of the course is to explore the challenges confronting international trade policy and current negotiations designed to address these challenges.
The methodology will be inter-disciplinary, including political, economic, and legal analysis.
Readings for the course are available on-line and will be posted to Blackboard.
This is a one-semester course, with one grade given at the end of the semester. The grade will consist of two elements, each equally weighted.
1. Class Participation. Attendance, punctuality, and the degree of informed class participation are included. Please give notice if you will be unable to attend a particular class session.
2. Work Products. This part of the grade will include preparation of two class presentations and a paper for the course. There will be no final examination at the end of the course.
CLASS PRESENTATIOS
Each week students will make short presentations on trade-related institutions or WTO agreement(s) relevant to that week’s topic. Each student will be responsible for two such presentations. The assignment is designed to provide a practical roadmap to the agencies and agreements that regulate international trade.
For institutions, each report should describe the regulatory functions and roles played by the assigned department, agency, or institution. This description should fall into two parts—the assigned role designated by statute, or charter, and the powers actually exercised by the office/agency in practice. Emphasis should be given to changes in role or policy in recent years, or over time.
For WTO Agreement, each report should attempt to discuss the following issues: 1) What does the agreement do? 2) Why was the agreement necessary? 3) What is the importance of the agreement to the trading system? 4) What is the impact of the agreement on developed versus developing countries
Each student should plan on delivering a presentation of no longer than 5-10 minutes. In addition, an outline of the presentation (no longer than 2 pages) should be prepared for distribution to the class. Both time and page length requirements will be strictly enforced, to encourage students to present their ideas in a succinct manner.
POSSIBLE PAPER TOPICS
Each student in the class will be responsible for researching, writing, and presenting a paper on an international economic/trade-related issue. The completed paper will be due at the last class on December 12. During that class, each student will be asked to give a short presentation (5 minutes) on the results of their work.
The following are some illustrative topics, but students are encouraged to identify a research topic of their own. In either case, approval of the paper is necessary from either Prof. Fekete or Prof. Caplan.
· Alleged currency manipulation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC); are new international trade rules needed to regulate currency levels?
· Should the United States permit purchases of its companies such as Unocal and Maytag by PRC entities: activities of CIFIUS and regulation of foreign investment in the United States
· The role of electronic commerce in international trade
· The Airbus dispute with the European Union: the issue of subsidies in international trade
· The relationship between international trade and peaceful relationships
· The role of states (e.g., California or Virginia) in promoting international trade, investment, and local economic development
· Countering OPEC: what is to be done?
· Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
· Basel Convention on Trans-Border Transportation of Hazardous Wastes
· The relationship between the U.S. budget deficit and the U.S. trade deficit
· How should the United States tax multinational enterprises?
· Prospects for CAFTA-DR
· Is NAFTA working?
· The technology factor in international commerce: is the United States losing its scientific and technological edge in areas such as biotechnology and nanotechnology?
· Implications of the end of textile quotas under the MFA
· Outsourcing: implications for U.S. employment
· What should be the U.S. policy on immigration?
· The case of Yahoo in China: privacy concerns, human rights, and the possible extraterritorial application and effect of U.S. laws
· The global quest for energy supplies: the case of China and Japan contesting the East China Sea for exploration purposes
· Should China be considered as a market economy for purposes of the Antidumping Law of the United States?
· Accession of Russia to the World Trade Organization
· Free trade in the Middle East
· Role of WalMart in international trade
· U.S. policy towards international commodity agreements
· WTO Dispute Resolution: is it working? For whom?
· Transnational Corporate Figures: The Case of Rupert Murdoch
· Surfing the Internet: The Development of International Electronic Commerce and its International Regulatory Aspects
· Relationship between use of grains as food and/or fuel.
· What’s at stake with the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations?
· Potential impact of Free Trade Agreements with Panama, Colombia, and/or Korea
· Economic stimulus policy in China and its impact on international trade in goods, services, and capital
· The economic meltdown in Iceland
· The impact of the global recession on international trade
· Efficacy of economic sanctions on Iran, North Korea, Cuba
First Class—CAPLAN/FEKETE—September 5, 2012Introduction: The Context of International Trade Policy
Required Reading
· WTO: Economic Underpinnings: http://www.swisslearn.org/wto/module4/e/start.htm
· Review The Impact of Tariffs on National Welfare at: http://polaris.umuc.edu/%7Epfekete/IMAN625/TariffGraph/sld001.htm
· Fare well, free trade, Economist Magazine, Dec 18th 2008 http://www.economist.com/node/12815617?story_id=12815617
· The National-Security Case for Free Trade, Wall Street Journal, October 6,2011 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204524604576611080749773932.html
Recommended Reading
· Taleb, Nassim Nicholas, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Random House, 2007.
· Fisher and Malloy, Chapter 1 - Introduction (PDF)
· Bergsten, C. Fred, The United States and the World Economy, Chapter 1. Institute for International Economics, 2005.
· Pearson, Charles, United States Trade Policy: A Work in Progress, Chapter 1., “An Overview”
· Prestowitz, Clyde, Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East, Basic Books, 2005
· Yergin, Daniel, The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy, Touchstone, 1998.
· Bhagwati, Jagdish, In Defense of Globalization, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Second Class—CAPLAN—September 12, 2012The International Financial Architecture
Class Presentation
STUDENT NAMEDepartment of Treasury
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Required Reading
· Exchange Rates and Trade http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl222_e.htm (video also available)
· Exploiting Exportation: Why Foreign Exchange Rates Matter, Economic Information Newsletter, April 2010 http://research.stlouisfed.org/pageone-economics/uploads/newsletter/2010/201004.pdf
· The Big Mac index at http://www.economist.com/node/17257797?story_id=17257797
Recommended Reading
· Morris Goldstein, “The International Financial Architecture,” Chapter 12 in Bergsten, C. Fred, The United States and the World Economy
· Stiglitz, Joseph, Globalization and Its Discontents, 2002.
· Bergsten, C. Fred and Williamson, John, eds., Dollar Overvaluation and the World Economy, Institute for International Economics, 2003.
Third Class—FEKETE—September 19, 2012The Institutional Framework for American Trade Policy
Class Presentations
STUDENT NAMEOffice of the United States Trade Representative
House Ways and Means Committee
Senate Finance Committee
Department of State
Required Reading
· Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Overview and Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes, Part I of II., 2010 edition, 111th Congress, 2nd session, WMCP 111-6 Online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-111WPRT63130/pdf/CPRT-111WPRT63130.pdf pp.383-397.
· The Brock Group (1992) The Formulation and Implementation of U.S. Trade Policy. Washington, D.C. Online in Blackboard
Recommended Reading
· Destler, I.M, American Trade Politics, 4th Edition, Institute for International Economics, 2005, Chapters 1 through 5.
· Fisher and Malloy, Chapter III, “Regulation of International Trade: The Institutions”
Fourth Class--FEKETE—September 26, 2012The Challenge of Multilateral Trade Negotiations: Is the Doha Round Dead?
Class Presentation
STUDENT NAMEAgreement Establishing the World Trade Organization
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes
Required Reading
· The WTO in Brief: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/inbrief_e/inbr00_e.htm
· (3 videos found at http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/webcas_e/webcas_e.htm)
o From GATT to WTO
o Basic principles of the WTO system http://wto.org/english/res_e/webcas_e/older_videos_e.htm
o To the heart of the WTO Also available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6dV4n8GdoY&list=PLBCED9B31E005160E&index=4&feature=plpp_video
· Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Overview and Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes, Part I of II., 2010 edition, 111th Congress, 2nd session, WMCP 111-6 Online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-111WPRT63130/pdf/CPRT-111WPRT63130.pdf pp.293-320
· Schwab, S. C. (2011, May/June). After Doha: Why the negotiations are doomed and what we should do about It. Foreign Affairs, 90(3), 104-117.
· Sutherland, Peter, The world will regret its neglect of Doha http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7b120acc-2986-11e0-bb9b-00144feab49a.html#axzz21Trjy8bY
Recommended Reading
· Malawer, Stuart, WTO Law, Litigation & Policy - Sourcebook of Internet Documents. Wm. S. Hein & Co.,, 2007.
Fifth Class—CAPLAN—October 3, 2012Competitiveness Challenge: Trade in Fairly Priced Goods
Class Presentation
STUDENT NAMEUnited States International Trade Commission
Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection
Agreement on Safeguards
Agreement on Rules of Origin
Required Reading
· Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Overview and Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes, Part I of II., 2010 edition, 111th Congress, 2nd session, WMCP 111-6 Online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-111WPRT63130/pdf/CPRT-111WPRT63130.pdf pp.138-148
· Fisher and Malloy, Chapter IV, “Relief from Fairly Priced Foreign Competition”
Recommended Reading
· Gilboy, George, “The Myth Behind China’s Miracle,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2004
· Pearson, Charles, Chapter 3, “Flirting with Managed Trade”
· Lardy, Nicholas, Integrating China into the Global Economy, Brookings, 2002 (1604 .L275 2002)
· Lardy, Nicholas, China’s Unfinished Economic Revolution, Brookings, 1998.
· Lardy, Nicholas, “China: The Great New Economic Challenge?” Chapter 4 in Bergsten, C. Fred, The United States and the World Economy.
· Navarro, Peter, The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Will Be Won, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2006.
· Navarro, Peter, China Price Project (Click to open)
· Fishman, Ted C., China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower
· Hufbauer, Gary C., Wong, Y., and Sheth, K., U.S.-China Trade Disputes: Rising Tide, Rising Stakes, Institute for International Economics, 2006.
· Challenges America and the World, Scribner, 2005.
· Groombridge, Mark A., and Barfield, Claude E., Tiger by the Tail: China and the World Trade Organization, The AEI Press, 1999.
· Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, Bhala, pp. 1304-1325.
· Rogers, Jim, A Bull in China: Investing Profitably in the World's Greatest Market. Random House, 2007.
· Zeng, Ming and Williamson, Peter J., Dragons at Your Door: How Chinese Cost Innovation Is Disrupting Global Competition. Harvard Business School, 2007.
Sixth Class—CAPLAN—October 10, 2012The Challenge of Competing Against Unfairly Priced Goods
Class Presentation
STUDENT NAMEDepartment of Commerce/International Trade Administration
US Court of International Trade
Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994 (Antidumping Code)
Required Reading
· Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Overview and Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes, Part I of II., 2010 edition, 111th Congress, 2nd session, WMCP 111-6 Online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-111WPRT63130/pdf/CPRT-111WPRT63130.pdf pp.102-135
· B. Bhattarcharyya, The Indian Shrimp Industry Organizes to Fight the Threat of Anti-Dumping Duties, - (click to open).
Recommended Reading
· Fisher and Malloy, Chapter V, Antidumping Duties
· Destler, Chapter 6, “Changing the Rules: The Rise of Administrative Trade Remedies”
· Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (“Antidumping” Agreement, Bhala, pp. 392-419.
· Irwin, Douglas, Free Trade Under Fire, Princeton University Press, 2005.
Seventh Class —FEKETE/CAPLAN—October 17, 2012Career Evening
GSDP typically schedules a career dinner about half-way through the semester. We will invite several colleagues who work in the field of international trade to come and speak informally with students about their careers, interests, background, and to provide advice for those just starting out.
Dinner will be served.
Eighth Class—FEKETE—October 24, 2012The Challenge of Subsidies in International Trade
Class Presentation
STUDENT NAMEUS Department of Agriculture
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
Agreement on Agriculture
Required Reading
· Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Overview and Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes, Part I of II., 2010 edition, 111th Congress, 2nd session, WMCP 111-6 Online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-111WPRT63130/pdf/CPRT-111WPRT63130.pdf pp 102-135,
· Fisher and Malloy, Chapter VI, Subsidies and Countervailing Duties
Recommended Reading
· Daniel Griswold, Grain Drain, The Hidden Cost of U.S. Rice Subsidies, Cato Institute, November 16, 2006 – click to open.
· WTO Decision on United States Subsidies on Upland Cotton, Report of the Appellate Body, WT DS 267/AB/R, March 3, 2005
· Robert Samuelson, “The Airbus Showdown,” December 8, 2004 – click to open.
· Irwin, Douglas A., and Nina Pavcnik (2004). “Airbus versus Boeing Revisited: International Competition in the Aircraft Market.” Journal of International Economics 64 (2): 223-245. – click to open.
· Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (“SCM Agreement”), Bhala, pp. 473-521.
Ninth Class—CAPLAN—October 31, 2012Trade Sanctions and Export Controls
Class Presentation
STUDENT NAMEExport Import Bank
Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
Required Reading
· Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Overview and Compilation of U.S. Trade Statutes, Part I of II., 2010 edition, 111th Congress, 2nd session, WMCP 111-6 Online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-111WPRT63130/pdf/CPRT-111WPRT63130.pdf pp 251-292 (Skim)
· Foreign Government Practices Act (FCPA) Online at: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa/
Recommended Reading
· http://www.fcpaenforcement.com/explained/explained.asp
· http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-firms-say-costly-foreign-bribe-law-lacks-clarity/2011/07/05/gIQAB50jTI_story.html