SME Internationalization Through Global Value Chains and Free Trade Agreements: Evidence from Malaysia

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted global trade in goods and services and has exposed weaknesses in the existing structures for international interaction within the global value chains in the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States of America, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The dependence of these economies on the People's Republic of China negatively affected the production processes of the largest industrial companies. To minimize the existing risks, countries are actively participating in and developing free trade agreements, which helps to diversify the geography of participants in global value chains and sales markets. The Government of the Republic of Korea has demonstrated its ability to effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing its own strategy of preventive measures and economic stimulus measures. In addition, two new foreign economic initiatives were launched: the New Southern Policy and the New Northern Policy, which could be based on existing and new free trade agreements. Active involvement in global value chains and participation in free trade agreements allowed the Republic of Korea to increase its competitive advantages in the world market and develop its economic potential. The diversification of trading partners under free trade agreements had a positive impact on the country's economic performance during the pandemic and helped to minimize the negative impact of disruptions in foreign trade. The Russian Federation has the opportunity to integrate into new foreign economic trends in South Korea, and there are opportunities to increase the volume of mutual trade between the countries. One of the ways to achieve this goal may be the signing of a bilateral agreement of a free trade zone between the Republic of Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union.

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The Trade-Labour Nexus: Global Value Chains and Labour Provisions in European Union Free Trade Agreements

Global Labour Journal ◽

10.15173/glj.v9i3.3354 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mirela Barbu ◽

Liam Campling ◽

Adrian Smith ◽

James Harrison ◽

Ben Richardson

Keyword(s):

Free Trade ◽

Value Chain ◽

Global Economy ◽

Free Trade Agreements ◽

Trade Agreements ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

Global Value Chains ◽

Value Chains ◽

Political Economies ◽

Common Framework

Labour standards provisions contained within the European Union’s (EU) free trade agreements (FTAs) are a major iteration of attempts to regulate working conditions in the global economy. This article develops an analysis of how the legal and institutional mechanisms established by these FTAs intersect with global value chain governance dynamics in counoutries with contrasting political economies. The article formulates an original analytical framework to explore how governance arrangements and power relations between lead firms in core markets and suppliers in FTA signatory countries shape and constrain the effectiveness of labour provisions in FTAs. This analysis demonstrates how the common framework of labour provisions in EU trade agreements, when applied in a uniform manner across differentiated political-economic contexts, face serious difficulties in creating meaningful change for workers in global value chains.

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