ASEAN towards a Global Halal Logistics through the Digitally-Enabled Community

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is leading the development of global halal trade and has the opportunity to become a leader in the global halal supply chain, especially in global halal logistics. Given the push towards digital transformation in creating a halal ecosystem and regarding the agenda of ASEAN towards a digitally-enabled economy, this study wants to examine whether ASEAN digitally-enabled community is correlated with ASEAN's chances of becoming a global halal logistics. Through a correlation test, it is found that there is a statistically significant relationship between ASEAN digitally-enabled community, as measured in internet subscribers/users per 100 persons and cellular/mobile phone per 100 persons, and the opportunity for ASEAN to become a global halal logistics, measured in ASEAN GDP, total air cargo, total trade in goods, and international air passenger traffic. This is probably the first study that preliminarily confirms digitally-enabled community is very important to strengthen ASEAN's opportunities to become the global halal logistics.

TRADE DEFICIT IN NEPAL: A REVIEW ON CURRENT TRADE DEFICIT, CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS

With globalization, world trade has been growing at a rapid pace. In most developing countries like Nepal, the problem of trade deficit has always been a part of the concern. The objective of this paper is to articulate the historical trend of the trade deficit in Nepal, the major imports and exports, the causes of the trade deficit, and some recommendations to solve the trade deficit. Nepal expanded its trade relationship after becoming a member of WTO on 23rd April 2004. Nepal mainly exports readymade garments, pashmina products, leather products, pulses, handicrafts, spices, medicinal herbs. The main imports are cereals, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, Mineral fuels, oils, iron & steel, plastics, gems, machinery. Major trading partners of Nepal are India, China, the USA, UAE, Canada, Indonesia, Argentina, France, Malaysia, and Ukraine. In the fiscal year 2019/20, imports decreased by 15.63%, and export increased by 0.62%. As a result, the total trade deficit decreased by 16.83%. Landlockedness, higher production cost, political instability, devaluation of currency are the factors impeding Nepal from coming out from the labyrinth of trade deficit. Fortification of the agricultural sector, focus on hydropower, improvement of infrastructures, modified trade policy, prioritization on export potential goods can solve the trade deficit. The country should strive towards specialization, strengthening the rural economy, gaining economies of scale, exploiting entrepreneurial and management skills of the labor force.

Chapter 6: Russia’s Regional Free Trade Agreements and Agri-Food Trade After 2014

This chapter analyses changes in Russia’s agri-food trade relations after 2014 with a specific focus on regional trade agreements. The introduction of countersanctions against Western countries in 2014 spurred the need to replace some of Russia’s most important foreign food trade partners. Free trade agreements can be effective instruments to boost trade and strengthen ties between countries. Russia is a latecomer in the race for free trade agreements, but a series of agreements have been negotiated since 2015. The portfolio of free trade agreements is still in an early stage, but there is a clear turn to Asia in Russia’s trade. China’s role in total trade as well as in agri-food trade with Russia is considerably strengthened despite the lack of trade preferences so far.

An Analysis of India’s Trade Flow with BIMSTEC nations- A Gravity Model Approach

At present, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) represent 22 percent of the global population and carries immense economic promise, with a combined GDP worth $ 3.5 trillion (2018). BIMSTEC have India as the largest economy of the group followed by Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan. The paper tries to examine the impact of determinants of trade, on trading pattern of India with the BIMSTEC nations, by employing an augmented gravity model on panel data, since its formation for the period of 22 years i.e., from 1997-2018. The paper tries to examine the India’s trade flow within BIMSTEC trading bloc by implying augmented gravity model followed by Egger (2000,2002), Baltagi et al. (2003) and Serlenga and Shin (2007). Several checks have been performed to imply the presence of serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and contemporaneous correlation in the panels. Many other preliminary tests have also been performed to know the crosssectional dependency, stationarity, panel co-integration and normality of variables. The simple panel OLS estimation technique has been used conduct Regression. The study finds out that Heckscher-Ohlin- Samuelson theorem explain the India’s pattern of trade with the bloc. The variables GDP, per capita GDP, Trade GDP ratio, common border and belonging to BIMSTEC has positive impact on the trade between the India and country j. While tax and distance are negatively correlated with total trade of the nations as per our expectations.

ОЦЕНКА ЭФФЕКТОВ ВЛИЯНИЯ МЕЖГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ ИНТЕГРАЦИИ НА АГРАРНЫЙ СЕКТОР КАЗАХСТАНА

Researching the agro-industrial complex development in formation of the Eurasian economic Union context is intended to assess the impact on agricultural production stability and competitiveness and its growth in integration process. Using the following indicators to assess the international economic integration process was carried out effects assessment of interstate integration on stability and competitiveness Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector: the economic openness indicator, the share of mutual trade turnover in the total trade turnover, the index of intra-industry trade for two countries case and one industry (the Grubel-Lloyd index), the preference coefficient, the mutual preference coefficient, the relative preference coefficient. Countries that are members to the integration Union get a number of dynamic advantages, which are showed in integration development process in the long term. There are not excluded the probability of the following negative integration effects – unilateral advantages for more developed member countries, price increases due to the formation of member countries’ transnational companies, demonstrations of descending economies effects scale (losses on scale). In general, the positive effects of integration, both static and dynamic, exceed the negative ones. Исследуя развитие агропромышленного комплекса в условиях формирования Евразийского экономического союза, предполагается оценить влияние на устойчивость и конкурентоспособность аграрного производства нарастание интеграционного процесса. С помощью показателей, позволяющих оценить процесс международной экономической интеграции: показатель открытости экономики, доля оборота взаимной торговли в общем обороте торговли, индекс внутриотраслевой торговли для случая двух стран и одной отрасли (индекс Грубеля-Ллойда), коэффициент предпочтения, коэффициент взаимного предпочтения, коэффициент относительного предпочтения, проведена оценка эффектов межгосударственной интеграции на устойчивость и конкурентоспособность аграрного сектора Казахстана. Страны, входящие в интеграционный союз, получают ряд динамических преимуществ, которые проявляются в процессе развития интеграции в долгосрочном периоде, где не исключается вероятность возникновения негативных эффектов интеграции - односторонних преимуществ для более развитых стран-участниц, повышение цен вследствие формирования транснациональных компаний стран-участниц, проявлений нисходящего эффекта масштаба (потерь на масштабе). В целом позитивные эффекты интеграции, как статические, так и динамические, превышают негативные.

Mexico’s Trade Relationship with China in the Context of the United States–China Trade war

The Mexico–China economic relationship is highly asymmetric, although the amount of total trade between the two countries has grown rapidly in the last ten years. Chinese exports to Mexico have grown exponentially and have diversified into different economic sectors. In contrast, Mexican exports to China have also grown but at a much slower pace and the pattern shows more concentration in fewer products. Paradoxically, in the context of the United States–China trade war, the Mexican economy has benefitted from the increase in tariffs that the United States has imposed on Chinese products. In 2019, for the first time, Mexico displaced China as a main trade partner of the United States. In this context, this article analyses the current economic relationship of Mexico with China and the United States in a triangular scheme, the impact of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement on the China–Mexico relationship, and Mexico's trade relationship with both economies in the context of the trade war.

The BRICS Countries’ Bilateral Economic Relations, 2009 to 2019: Between Rhetoric and Reality

After Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) started meeting in the BRIC countries format, and since 2011 with South Africa in the BRICS format, these countries’ leaders made several pledges for strengthening intra-BRICS economic cooperation. This article examines the degree this is reflected in the increase of Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment (COFDI) in the other four BRICS countries, the value of Chinese construction contracts, and bilateral trade between China and Brazil, India, Russia South Africa in 2009 to 2019. Focusing on these aspects contributes to the ongoing debate about the institutionalization of the BRICS political grouping. This article demonstrates that, thus far, despite the various pledges, the intensification of intra-BRICS economic cooperation is very limited. With some exemptions due to mega investment deals, COFDI in the other BRICS partners is still reasonably modest and shows no clear trend of increase over time in both absolute and relative figures. There is no significant increase in total trade, and various imbalances and asymmetries remain. Thus, the reality does not mirror the BRICS rhetoric on the intensification of economic cooperation.