International Trade

The term paper has two objectives. First, it will help you gain deeper understanding of one important international trade issue. Second, it will help you practice the skills of researching, critical thinking, and written communication.

Guidelines:

1. Your paper should NOT exceed 3000 words.

2. Your paper should have a clear structure: introduction, main argument, conclusion, references.

3. Cite your sources using Chicago Author-Date Style.

4. Cite a minimum of three academic journal articles or economic monographs from credible think tanks (here’s a list https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.ttanks.html) or governments. Please bold the three main sources (so I don’t have to guess which three). Textbooks, newspaper, and magazine articles will not count towards the three-source requirement but may be used and cited. Information from Wikipedia and random websites/blogs are not allowed.  Sources used in your paper must be referred to in the text and included in your list of references. 

 5. You must choose from one of the following topics

Topic 1: The US federal government shut down from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019 (35 days, longest shutdown in US history) due to the disagreement on funding a physical wall at US southern border. The White House request 5 billion while Democrats refused to provide any more than the 1.3 billion for general border security. The fundamental problem behind the impasse on the border wall is the disagreement on immigration policies between Trump supporters and Democrats.

Suppose that you work at an institution that does not have a political or ideological predisposition. You are asked to provide a theoretical analysis of the economic impact of immigration and a summary of evidence on the impact of immigrants on the US economy. Based on your analysis and evidence, make recommendations on immigration policies to the US government.

Topic 2. Suppose that you work for a think tank that does not have an economic interest in good X or have an activist agenda. You are asked to provide a report regarding the impact of international trade in good X (e.g., oil, rare earth, sugar, coffee, soybeans, ivory and rice etc.) on the environment or the ecosystem. You are free to choose which good you would like to discuss. Please be aware your focus has to be on the impact of international trade of this good.

Please consider the following:

• Motivation of the essay. (Why it’s important to talk about trade in X? Remember that you’re not an activist but an economist.)
• Description and summary of the trade in good X. (data/statistics)
• Theoretical analysis of the impact on environment. (economic nature of this problem)
• Empirical evidence on the impact on environment. (data/statistics)
• Conclusion or policy suggestions based on theory and empirical evidence.

Topic 3. In November 2018, Canada, US, and Mexico signed the United States—Mexico—Canada agreement (USMCA). In July 2020,  the USMCA replaced the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which came into effect in January 1994.

Suppose that you work for the Global Affairs Canada. You are asked to provide a report on 1) the importance of such an agreement to Canada both theoretically and empirically, 2) the major differences between USMCA and NAFTA for Canada, and 3) who’s likely to gain and who’s likely to lose from this change in Canada.

Topic 4. In July 1986, China applied for admission to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the predecessor of the WTO. After lengthy negotiations, China became the 143^rd member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. During the 15 years of bilateral and multilateral negotiations, China made a set of commitments to the WTO and its members. These commitments are documented in China’s Protocol of Accession and the accompanying Working Party Report (available on the WTO website). Whether or how much China has complied with its WTO commitments has been a topic of heated debate.

Suppose that you work for the WTO, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the new WTO Director-General, asks you to provide a report on China’s key WTO commitments and its compliance. Assume an impartial position and incorporate credible and balanced sources. (If you have sources only from the US government or the Chinese government, the report will be viewed as biased.)