The US–China trade war and Phase One agreement

The Trump administration changed US trade policy toward China in ways that will take years for researchers to sort out. This paper makes four specific contributions to that research agenda. The first is to carefully mark the timing, definitions, and scale of the products subject to the tariff changes affecting US–China trade from January 20, 2017 through January 20, 2021. One result was each country increasing its average duty on the other to rates of roughly 20 percent, with the new tariffs and counter-tariffs covering more than 50 percent of bilateral trade. The second contribution is to highlight two additional channels through which bilateral tariffs changed during this period that received less research attention. One tariff change is through product exclusions, another is trade remedy policies of antidumping and countervailing duties. The third contribution is to provide an initial exploration into why China fell more than 40 percent short of meeting the goods purchase commitments set out under the first year of the Phase One agreement. The last contribution is to consider additional trade policy actions—involving forced labor, export controls for reasons of national security or human rights, and reclassification of trade with Hong Kong—likely to affect US–China trade beyond the Trump administration.     

2000年前的中国对外贸易:分析思路和前景展望

我国外贸今后发展的内部条件已经发生重大变化,而外部环境仍然具有两重性。因此,我国外贸发展的诸决定因素已明显不同,但其前景依然是不必悲观的。     

知识经济与软件商品

知识经济时代的到来 ,使凝结在社会财富中的科学技术含量日益增加 ,软件随之成为独立的存在 ,并已走向商品化。软件的无形属性 ,不像硬件那样容易触摸 ,所以常常使人忽视其存在 ,形成若干观念误区。软件的总体数量超过硬件 ,是人类历史的进步 ,标志着社会生产力进入了崭新的阶段。文章对知识经济时代的软件商品做了全面考察。当前的重要任务就是从简单的粗放劳动解放出来 ,走向高效细腻的智力劳动 ,知识经济时代也就是软件商品时代     

Free trade,food-processing,and migration: An analysis of Mexican immigration in the U.S. Great Plains Region

This paper empirically identifies the factors driving Mexican immigration into the U.S. Great Plains region, focusing especially on the role of work in the Mexican and U.S. food-processing sectors, which in the context of NAFTA-induced foreign direct investments, opens up paths for migration along occupational lines into the U.S. from Mexico. Using a unique dataset on Mexican migration, the study addresses three related questions in a series of multivariate logistic regression analyses. First, is employment in the U.S. food-processing sector associated with Mexican migration into the Great Plains region? Second, does employment in the Mexican food-processing sector predict employment in the Great Plains food-processing sector? Finally, is the political–economic context linking Mexico and the U.S. related to the formation of occupational channels linking the food-processing sectors in Mexico and the U.S.? The findings demonstrate that the U.S. food-processing sector is a strong predictor of Mexican migration to the Great Plains region; Mexican migration is strongly channeled along occupational lines from Mexico to the U.S.; and the implementation of NAFTA, a period of intensive political–economic integration, strengthens the occupational channel between the food-processing sectors.     

What future for the Global Aid for Trade Initiative? Towards an assessment of its achievements and limitations

As with any form of contemporary global governance, the impact of the global Aid for Trade Initiative (2006) has been mixed. However, to dismiss it as a failure would be premature. The co‐ordination system established was based on best‐practice techniques of governance in a diverse non‐hierarchical environment, such as the international development community. This form of co‐operation cannot overcome global economic and political asymmetries, but it can be effective in several respects. In particular, the Initiative led to increased funding for AfT and kick‐started a range of initiatives and technical advances; while the monitoring process has evolved significantly to give voice to new actors and issues. Although the future of the AfT Initiative is uncertain, its achievements merit careful consideration.     

Trade and jobs in Europe: The role of mode 5 service exports

Over the past two decades, EU employment supported by extra‐EU exports of goods and services has increased markedly, with a shift towards jobs supported by services exported as part of manufactured goods. The authors seek further insight into this trend through the full decomposition of trade flows using a multi‐regional input–output model and the World Input–Output Database for 40 countries and 35 industries over the period 1995–2011. Their findings call for reflection by policy‐makers regarding the four traditional modes of service supply under the General Agreement on Trade in Services with a view to adequately capturing this new reality in global trade.     

“Well,if you can't smile you should go home!” Experiences and reflective insights on providing outreach to young sex trade workers

This case study relates experiences and candid reflections of front-line staff in the STAND program (Street Trade Alternatives and New Directions) providing outreach to young sex trade workers in downtown Toronto. The authors describe how this project came to be and the lessons learned in setting it up and providing services to this vulnerable, very hard to reach but resilient population. Through a sharing of tales and narratives of outreach, the authors corroborate some of the reasons why there is much written on outreach but little specifically about reaching out to sex trade workers. The traditional responses and approaches in working with children and youth are also questioned in light of negotiating power, building relationships, and actively waiting for the client to lead the change process.     

Understanding the complex negotiations in fulfilling the right to independent living for disabled people

The independent living agenda has become dominated by a rights focus that has helped drive national-level shifts in setting norms and changing mind-sets. This paper is concerned with examining how rights are utilised by service providers in the process of facilitating independent living. Drawing on an empirical study of providers in Ireland, the paper identifies the strategies being used to put rights into practice. The findings show that in the process of creating a well-managed support arrangement for each individual, providers often take a delicate approach to using rights, and sometimes dilute their guiding principles when engaging in ongoing complex negotiations between individuals, families, staff and volunteers. The disabled people's movement can contribute to the shared learning required in enabling managers handle this process better, rather than solely rely on an abstract call for rights.     

对我国陶瓷业的历史考察

本文从历史的角度,论述了我国陶瓷业发展在社会发展中的作用,强调了瓷器业发展对我国国际交往、贸易的历史作用。目前,加入世贸组织已成定局,在此之后,如何重现我国陶瓷业的历史风采,这是一个值得我们思考的重大课题。     

对外贸易与劳动力市场关系研究评述

本文系统地梳理了国内外关于对外贸易与劳动力市场关系的理论研究和实证检验成果,发现国内外学者主要从对外贸易的就业效应、对外贸易与劳动力流动关系和对外贸易的劳动力集聚效应三个方面来阐述二者之间的关系,同时本文从这三方面分别对现有的研究成果进行了评述。在此基础上,本文提出了今后进一步研究二者关系应遵循的基本规律和基本方向。