Globalization and Trade

Research and Event Summaries

Event Summary

On February 20, The George Washington Center for the Study of Globalization (GWCSG) held its monthly Globalization Faculty Brown Bag. Director John Forrer introduced Michael Moore (Associate Professor, Department of Economics) and Jiawen Yang (Associate Professor, Department of International Business), as the second set of several speakers the GWCSG hosts as part of its faculty seminar series. Professors Moore and Yang are recipients of research grants from the GWCSG, which sponsors projects in various areas of globalization studies. The goal of the Brown Bag series is to examine how each speaker's research findings have impacted his or her views on the globalization debate. Professor Moore examines the aspects of the anti-dumping regime in the U.S. and selected developing countries, while professor Yang's research looks at the economic impacts and policy implications of U.S. economic sanctions. Both studies provide fresh perspectives on the dynamics and outcomes of globalization and trade. At the Brown Bag discussion, Professors Moore and Yang discussed how one 'truth' about globalization and trade has been either confirmed or denied by their research findings.

Professor Moore discussed the "truth" about globalization in respect to whether the U.S. "plays by the rules" when it comes to trade policies. Moore questioned whether the perception of the U.S. as a good citizen bears any 'truth'? According to Moore, dumping has been considered an archaic area of international trade law, where no attempts have been made to make dumping a priority. He maintained that the lack of interest in dumping is due to the basic moral and legal fact that no one wants to be 'dumped' on. In his conclusion, he examines the link between how the highly moral based U.S. foreign policy, especially in regard to security issues, very much affects policy-making on anti-dumping.

Professor Yang spoke of the impact of U.S. economic sanctions and its use as an alternative to foreign policy, diplomacy, and military engagement. The U.S. is the single largest source of unilateral economic sanctions imposed on numerous countries, Yang cites. Once economic sanctions are in place, he argues, it becomes difficult to remove them. Even after removal the negative impacts are lasting. He found among other things, that:

• Unilateral economic sanctions are extremely costly and sever economic interactions between sanctioned country and the U.S.
• Third-country effects are created due to trade reductions between U.S. and sanctioned countries.
• Unilateral sanctions aimed at compelling changes in the behavior of sanctioned countries are rarely achieved.

At the end of the discussion, several questions were raised. Among them were:

• What are the alternatives to sanctions?
• When anti-dumping policies were formulated, did the U.S. not expect for other nations to imitate these policies?

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