IB - Important International Bodies and Agreements [LESSON]
Important International Bodies and Agreements
Free Trade is trade that is done purely on free market principles, without restrictive regulations.
The United States - Mexico - Canada Agreement USMCA is a 2018 agreement to lower taxes on products traded between North American Countries (US, Canada and Mexico). It also protects copyrights, patents, and trademarks between the three countries.
The European Union (EU) was established in November 1993 and is an economic and political union of 27 member states. The EU has developed a single market through a standardized system of laws which apply in all member states. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development. The Euro is designed to build a single market by eliminating exchange rate problems, providing price transparency, creating a single financial market and low interest rates, providing a currency used internationally, and protecting against economic fluctuations through internal trade.
- The Eurozone is an economic and monetary union of 19 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency and sole legal tender. The Eurozone currently consist of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) is an economic and political agreement among the full members countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela (suspended since 2016) created in 1991 to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people and currency. There are several associate member countries: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname. The official languages are Guarani, Portuguese, and Spanish.
- Intra-Mercosur merchandise trade grew from $10 billion at the inception of the trade bloc (''is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade, (tariffs and non-tariff barriers) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.'') in 1991, to $88 billion in 2010.
- With a population of more than 295 million people, and a GDP of the full-member nations in excess of $3.4 trillion a year, Mercosur is the fifth-largest economy in the world.
- Mercosur has 5 full member countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela -[suspended in 2016]), and 7 Associate members (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname).
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
- APEC includes newly industrialized economies and members account for approximately 40% of the world's population, approximately 54% of the world's gross domestic product and about 44% of world trade.
- Established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world.
- APEC works to raise living standards and educational levels through sustainable economic growth and to foster a sense of community and an appreciation of shared interest among Asia-Pacific countries.
The World Trade Organization was formed in 1995 and has 164 member countries working together to supervise and liberalize international trade. The WTO provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements signed by representatives of member governments.
Tariff - A system of government-imposed duties levied on imported or exported goods; a list of such duties, or the duties themselves.
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