Globalization on American Foreign Policy?

¶ … globalization on American foreign policy? Discuss with respect to security and economic issues.

The integration of the national economies and the wave of globalization have nullified the concerns and restrictions which previously halted the trade and economic relationship between the countries. The globalization has provided the countries with an opportunity to develop trade linkages in swift manner, and such possibility has offered better opportunity to the developed countries, and has facilitated their needs and utilities. The scope of activities and exercises conducted within the developed countries has also enhanced due to the possible opportunities available in the developing countries. The interests of the developed countries have not only remained protected, but have further explored. The level of competition has never distracted the economic and trade activities of the developed countries, much because the level of competition among the developed countries is diluted. The globalization has however resulted in the era of greater interdependence of the economies due to the provisions of the free trade and relaxed taxation policy, therefore 'the pace of political and economic convergence increased dramatically over the past few decades as states appear increasingly similar in terms of their political structures and economic functions' (Dell, 2001).

Era of Globalization

With particular reference to the United States, the 'globalization of economy has weakened the states' (Dell, 2001) control over their societies; thus, globalization promotes civil liberties and, eventually, democracy, through socioeconomic development' (Dell, 2001), and this caused has resulted in the independence of the United States, therefore the globalization commenced soon after the independence of the United States, 'the integration of national economies into the global market place has served as a catalyst to the states' political liberalization' (Dell, 2001). The globalization has certain limitations, and the extent of those has diminished with the passage of time. The convergence on the economic and trade agenda has motivated the United States to develop mutual and cordial understanding with the developing countries, and such collaboration has evolved keeping aside the religious, cultural and social differences. The United States has been successful in the development of the trade and economic relationships with Muslim countries in Asian territory, therefore the trade and economic policies of the United States are mainly trade oriented, therefore every such policy has provided economic gain to the country. The wave of globalization has prompted the local population to actively participate in the decision making policy of the country, which is as per the injunctions of the democratic principles, therefore the acclaimed democratic country of the world has been successful in achieving that mark due to the liberal practices adopted by the Americans.

The trade volume of United States has soared rapidly, and the increase is associated with the industrial development achieved by the country. The United States has been among the selected country which has gained expertise in wide range of activities, the country is renowned for its industrial services, manufacturing, food processing, textiles, agricultural products, construction, aerospace and aviation, automobiles, research and development and pharmacy, 'the volume of international commercial transactions in the favor of United States increased dramatically after World War II and countries' (Dell, 2001) economies became internationalized with an increasing percentage of their GNP attributable to international exchange of goods and services' (Imai, 2002). The United States was successful in the development of the 'concept of the internationalization of national economies which required multiple measures to capture it adequately' (Dell, 2001), and for this purpose the country was able to achieve prominent mark in economic indices relevant to 'economic internationalization, the volume of international commercial transactions' (Imai, 2002).

Security Concerns

The security concerns have dominantly turned the United States reluctant to invest and develop an economic understanding with other countries, unfortunately no other country in the world has implemented the desired level of security checks as the government of United States as performed, and such progress has evolved security vulnerabilities which has possess threat for the interests of United States (John, 2001). The terrorist network has in past attempted to damage the economic interests of United States, and such interests have been targeted in different parts of the world, in particular Asia and African region. The security issues have in past never derailed the economic progress of the country, but under prevailing situation the issue of terrorism has restricted the domain and magnitude of the economic activities and trade agreement envisaged with other countries. The globalization has therefore left United States in troublesome situation, though the curtain to the unexplored and hidden opportunities in the Asian and African region were unveiled, but the such opportunities were followed by the high facto of risk and uncertainty. The government of the United States has already imposed several security barriers at its seaports, airports and rail tracks, but the clearance system to ensure the safety and protection of the equipment and people, but such formalities and checks have delayed the pace of economic and trade activities, but narrow the spectrum of the economic progress (Gerald, 2007).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has experienced wide range of terrorist attacks, initially the level of terrorist operations were beyond the imagination of the government of United States, but after the collapse of the World Trade Center on 11th September, the United States government reevaluated its security plans and major amendments were incorporated to ensure the smooth pace of the economic and trade activities, however the expect surge in the level of the activities experienced deflation (Joseph, 2005). The agreements on economic cooperation and free trade were scrutinized and major focus was build towards through security check. The practice of thorough inspection and monitoring infuriated the trade officials from other parts of the world, and therefore such officials shifted their focus to other developed countries, however the country was able to capture the extent of the desired trade activities through the incorporation of the friendly and encouraging provisions, aimed at the restoration of good relations without any compromise over the security concern (Joseph, 2005). The United States has experienced unprecedented increase in the foreign direct investment, particularly in the service sector. The inflow of the foreign direct investment has achieved 'a controlling interest in cross-border enterprises which resulted in the phenomenal growth, the foreign direct investment measured the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor' (Imai, 2002). The major focus of the critics and economic analysts has been the factors of globalization associated with the trade and foreign direct investment, and such activities are regarded as the 'market phenomena in mainstream theory' (Erik, 2004). The majority of the critics have in principles agreed over the practice of free trade i.e. globalization, but such practices shall be followed without causing any significant damage to the country local industries of the United States (John, 2001).

Economic Concerns

The economic concerns related with the implementation of the globalization has been significant, although in some of the cases the impact has been as per the aspirations of the local traders (Das, 2005), but in majority of the American economy has experienced jolts. The emergence of China and India as the economic hub for the Asian countries have resulted in the declination of the imports from the United States, both the countries have been able to produce the items in desired qualitative and quantitative terms, followed by the provisions of cheap labor (Nicholas, 2002). The United States has been failure on this particular front, and has failed to bring the shares back to its homeland. However, the corporate sector of the country in consultation with the government of United States have established their industrial units in China and India, therefore the qualitative standards will be certified by the American company but the production will be fabricated in some other part of the world, at possible cheapest expenses (Nicholas, 2002). It has been experienced that in past the country has offered credits to the group of companies with relaxations, such relaxations were offered without any conditions and the requirements of the companies were facilitated, therefore the industrial units relevant to automobiles, pharmacy and consultancy services have remained settled in the United States. The United States has potential to explore future opportunities for itself, but such opportunities should not be snatched rather these should be evolved and shared with the potential industrial units. The country has to revaluate the risk factor, and has to take a bold and confident measure aimed at the expansion and progress of the economic and trade aspects. The globalization is not specifically a trade policy; it is the incorporation of the trade policy in the international market such that the interests and concerns of the international clients are delivered (Das, 2005).