World trade systems and international commerce

Trade Agreements

There are significantly more trade agreements in the world than I would have predicted. A list of final agreements between the United States and individual countries indicates that the United States alone has trade agreements with nations ranging from Argentina to Zimbabwe, and an impressive number of other countries, including Canada, Brazil, Taiwan, Russia, Mongolia, Korea, Jordan, and Ghana (Foreign Agricultural Service). Other countries have similarly large numbers of agreements (Government of Alberta). Trade agreements in the future are likely to become more prominent, given the increasing pressures of globalization. As such, countries with reciprocal trade agreements are likely to be more economically viable than those that tend to isolate themselves from trade in an increasingly interdependent world.

International politics are linked closely to international trade. Often, it is difficult to distinguish whether politics or trade takes the lead in global affairs. As an example, many Western countries have long criticized China's human rights record, and political tension between China and the Western world have often surfaced, but political relations seem to be improving with the Western world as China moves its economy slowly toward a more capitalistic structure. In short, the Western world seems more accepting of China's political motives as long as trade occurs. In sharp contrast, political motivations have long stopped trade between the United States and Fidel Castro's Cuba.