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SONAR|HES-SO

SONAR|HES-SO regroupe les travaux de bachelor et master diffusables de plusieurs écoles de la HES-SO. Consultez cette page pour le détails.

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Mémoire
Bachelor thesis

A clash of titans : underlying causes, chronologies and impacts of the current US trade wars

    2020

188 p.

Mémoire de bachelor: Haute école de gestion de Genève, 2020

English The election of Donald J. Trump at the presidency of the world-biggest economy has been the beginning of important changes in the international order and more specifically in the rules-based trading system. Under his leadership, the US has imposed, in successful waves, tariffs and trade-restrictive measures on imported goods coming from most of its trading partners and this in parallel of the WTO rules- based framework, despite the country being a founding member of the international organization. Furthermore, under President Trump’s administration, the persistent US attempts to paralyze the WTO Dispute Settlement Body were finally successful. The supreme court when it comes to trade is unable to issue final and binding verdicts since December 2019, depriving the organization of its fundamental function as arbitrator for trade conflicts between member countries. The action plunged the WTO and global multilateral system into an existential crisis. Several reasons were given to justify the imposition of tariffs targeting mainly the second- and third-biggest economic powers in the world, namely the EU and China. Unfair trade practices concerning Intellectual Property Rights, Chinese non-market economic features and violations of China’s protocol of accession to the WTO, systematic trade deficit with the EU and China and project of future tax laws were deemed as hurting unreasonably US commerce and companies. Unilateral implementation of tariffs under specific US trade laws, whether on steel and aluminium, LRW, solar panels were seen as necessary so as to protect US industries, especially in the manufacturing sector and blue-collar workers’ jobs, an unwavering electoral base of President Trump. However, due to the current structure of the global economy, where countries are interconnected and interdependent due to the increasing importance of trade in intermediate goods as well as the rise of GVCs in the production process, has raised the question whether the US were actually shooting themselves in the foot. Tariffs seemed to raise the prices of parts and components that US companies use in their production, thus increasing input costs and undermining overall cost-competitiveness. While acknowledging that China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 has raised challenges, notably on how to address the country’s state-led policies and practices such as SOEs, WTO members and US closest trading partners, the EU ahead, have questioned the appropriateness as well as the relevance of the measures taken by the US. The latter are perceived as having undermined the global trading system, increased uncertainty, provoked a decrease in FDI and potentially plummeted the economic growth at the same time, all for the pursuit of domestic objectives serving US interests uniquely.
Language
  • English
Classification
Economics
Notes
  • Haute école de gestion Genève
  • International Business Management
  • hesso:hegge
License
License undefined
Identifiers
  • RERO DOC 329846
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/hesso/documents/315062
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