2017 - II

UNIVERSIDAD DEL NORTE

BUSINESS SCHOOL
MARKETING AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

FINAL ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

General question to answer: Where are we now in terms of International Economic

Integration?

1. A specific country
2. A trade agreement
3. The world
4. Colombia
5. European Union

Examples of topics:

1. Proliferation of RTA
2. Protectionism
3. Free trade
4. Globalization
5. Global Value Chains
6. Developing vs. Developed Countries
7. Doha Round
8. Multilateralism (WTO) vs. regionalism (RTA)
9. Multinationals from Emerging Markets
10. How to really take advantage of RTA.
11. Etc.

A. Elaborate you theses: what is your statement, what do you believe?

Ex. We are coming back to protectionism in terms of factors of production mobility and
international trade.

B. Write a draft of your arguments in favour of your thesis (previous exercise before writing
the actual essay / suggestion).

Ex.

1. Trump. Withdrawal of the United States from the TPP. Strongest immigration rules.
Promoting internal jobs.
2. Brexit. Consequence of terrorism. Re-negotiation. Protection of internal jobs.

Lorena A. Palacios-Chacon, PhD

2017 - II

3. Increase in the TBT and SPS measures limits the advantages of the Regional Trade
Agreements.

C. Search information about your topic of interest. Sources: Google Scholar, Proquest,
EBSCO, Sicience Direct and find ideas related to your arguments. (You need to choose
at least three key words. Ex. Protectionism, Brexit, Trump Policies, Technical Barriers to
Trade, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures).

You must include at least 5 academic sources (citations).

D. Write the essay:

1. First paragraph is the justification/explanation of your thesis.

2. Second paragraph. Development of argument one.
3. Third paragraph. Development of argument two.
4. Fourth paragraph. Development of argument three.
5. Fifth paragraph. Conclusions.

Include a very interesting title. From that sentence make us want to read your document.

If you want to include more arguments, you are allow, but the maximum of pages is three.
That applies also for extra paragraphs explaining the same argument.

Page size: letter

Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 12
Space: single
APA style for citation and bibliography.
Include at least 5 academic sources

Note: The attempt of plagiarism will be penalized with a grade of 0.1. Each document is
going to be scanned using Turtinin and a maximum of 20% of coincidence with internet will
be allowed.

Last day: 15th of November. You must use the activity on blackboard. Mails are not allow.
Check the rubric criteria for more details.

Lorena A. Palacios-Chacon, PhD

2017 - II

FINAL ESSAY EXAMPLE

The big setback: a New Era of Protectionism

The consolidation of the European Union and the proliferation of Regional Trade
Agreements during the first decade of the 21st Century, meant huge steps towards a freer
international trade (Freund and Ornelas, 2010). The improvements in technology and the
extended use of social networks allow a world more interconnected and made international
commerce quicker and cheaper (Lombana-Coy et. al., 2016). For most people, 2016 was a
weird year: the election of Trump as the President of the United States, the withdrawal of the
United Kingdom from the European Union (Brexit) and the death of politicians and many
artists (including Fidel Castro and Princess Leia). The first two events and its consequences
is what we call The big setback. Also it is relevant to include Technical Barriers to Trade
(TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) as part of current world trade
dynamics, given that these are the nowadays topics on debate (Orefice, 2017). This essay is
going to depict three reasons why we are entering a New Era of Protectionism.

One of the Donald Trumps first actions while arriving to the White House was to sign an
executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (Kwok, 2017).
One of the strongest reasons for making this decision was to protect the United States
employment and industry. Following the same line, Trump vowed to renegotiate the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and after threatening to pull out, Canada and
The United States agreed to talk (BBC News, 2017). TPP was meant to be the biggest trade
agreement ever seen, but it would not have the same impact without the United States. Even
trade data have shown that the most benefited country with NAFTA have been the United
States, the populist view of the new president could mean a close of the countrys borders.

The same fear at the Unites States about what could happen with local employment and the
increase of terrorism are frequently cited as reasons for the United Kingdom (UK) to
withdraw the European Union (EU). The 24th of June of 2016, the results of a referendum,
approved the Britain Exit from this agreement. The EU could be thought as one of the most
important Treaties of the whole history. It represented to leave behind differences and
hostilities between old enemies such as France and Germany. Also, it meant to put peoples
well-being on top of individual nationalism. Even it is too early to conclude that the UK is
going to close its borders to the exchange of goods and services with the EU, it is true that
some countries are starting to question the stability of the Union, given that other countries
could make a similar decision. Protectionism could be the great choice.

Following a more microeconomic perspective of international trade than the previous two
arguments, the last main point is related to TBT and SPS measures as the new trend of
protectionism, directly related to export and import products. In the Dispute Settlement
process of the World Trade Organization (WTO) there are 21 agreements that could be cited

Lorena A. Palacios-Chacon, PhD

2017 - II

in the request for consultations. Two of them are the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
and the Technical Barriers to Trade. Since 1995 20% of the cases have called those two
agreements, given the increase and differences in those rules between countries (WTO,
2017). The International Standard Organization ISO, register a total of 21,854 standards
covering almost all aspects of technology and business. Between GATT and WTO
negotiations the main topic was the reduction of tariffs, but research such the one of Orefice
(2017), have demonstrated, using empirical data, that TBT and SPS measures have become
the new way of protectionism. Two reasons for that are the increasing number of measures
and the consequent increase in prices.

The last three paragraphs include arguments of why we are entering a New Era of
Protectionism. From the point of view of International Trade Agreements, the changes in the
TPP, NAFTA and the EU leave the feeling that the developed world is closing its borders to
be safer from the drawbacks of globalization such as the delocalization of labour and
terrorism. Focusing the perspective on the quality of products sold and bought outside
national borders, TBT and SPS measures are the new barriers to trade. It is good to think on
consumers health, but free trade has also huge benefits that cannot be taken advantage of if
keep imposing obstacles to international commerce.

References

Disputes by agreement. (2017, October 13). Retrieved from:

https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_agreements_index_e.htm

Freund, C., & Ornelas, E. (2010). Regional trade agreements. Annu. Rev. Econ., 2(1), 139-
166.

Kwok, Jen Tsen. Trade: Is TPP really dead? [online]. Advocate: Newsletter of the National
Tertiary Education Union, Vol. 24, No. 1, Mar 2017: 34.
Availability:<http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=7166784172640
82;res=IELBUS> ISSN: 1321-8476. [cited 11 Oct 17].

Lombana-Coy, J., Rosas-Gutirrez, S., Corredor-Velandia, C., Silva-Guerra, H., Castellanos-

Ramrez, A., & Gonzlez-Ortiz, J. (2016). Negocios Internacionales: Fundamentos y
Estrategias.

Orefice, G. (2017). NonTariff Measures, Specific Trade Concerns and Tariff Reduction. The
World Economy, 40(9), 1807-1835.

Trumps promises before and after the election. (2017, September 19). Retrieved from:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37982000

Lorena A. Palacios-Chacon, PhD