A Perspective on CHN-US Trade Relations Based on the Perspective of the New Crown Epidemic

The Covid-19 pneumonia epidemic has broken out and spread in more than 215 countries, with more than 7 million confirmed cases worldwide, which will definitely have a huge negative impact on the global economy, and it has also given birth to populism and trade protectionism in some countries such as the United States. In particular, the trade friction between China and the United States has not been completely resolved, and the direction of the trade relationship has become an important issue in the post-epidemic era. Using retrospective research methods, dynamic analysis methods, and path analysis methods, we discovered the uncertainties in Sino-US trade relations under the epidemic. In the post-epidemic era, Sino-US trade relations will show long-term trade disputes, accompanied by complex politicization and normalization of talks while fighting. However, Sino-US trade is highly interdependent and cannot be divided. Therefore, China upholds to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind, comprehensively deepens reform and opening up, adheres to dialogue and consultation, stabilizes the ballast of economic and trade relations, crosses the "Thucydides trap", and implements the strategy of expanding domestic demand to take the lead in restoring the economy during the epidemic. Responding to the trade war provoked by the United States against China also provides reference for in-depth research on trade-related theories.

Punitive Damages Awards in International Arbitration: Franchising Case

This article is written to evaluate the practical significance of punitive damages in the field of arbitration concerning international commercial disputes and franchise disputes. It finds that punitive damages awards are frequent in domestic arbitrations in the United States but not internationally common. This article discusses the severity of the punitive damages awards to explain why such decisions are not frequent in international trade disputes; it still has a significant influence that concerns the contracting parties, making them exclude punitive damages in their agreements. This article also explains the reasons for limiting the use of these punitive damages. The first one is the limitation of punitive damages applied to arbitration. Indeed, punitive damages are only recognised under a handful of domestic arbitration laws in a number of countries, especially the ones associated with contract claims. Secondly, the enforceability of such awards is internationally limited due to public policy. Therefore, this difficulty caused the arbitral tribunal to refuse to award such damages. Finally, the statistics on punitive damages award in international commercial arbitration are scarce, so the article refers to provide and analyse the cases that are not international-thereby discussing and evaluating the suitability of punitive damages in the context of international commercial arbitration

Dealing with the Barriers in International Trade in Vietnam Today

It’s been considered to be a tough time for the domestic business community in recent years due to the change in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the outbreak of anti-globalization trend, the US interest rate hike, and the upcoming fourth industrial revolution. Those factors can lead to the reversal of international trade and investment, highly affecting young economies of high attraction, which, as those in Vietnam, consider exports and foreign investment as growth drivers. As the matter stands, a large number of Vietnamese enterprises have been suffering from unfair trade disputes and anti-dumping lawsuits on the way to global integration. That the enterprises lack considerate understanding of commercial legality and the spirit of solidarity to cope with trade barriers leads to such expense. Therefore, the author wishes to evaluate the ability of Vietnamese businesses to deal with the international trade barriers; and thereby make recommendations which could help those enterprises effectively respond to such barriers under the circumstance of global integration.

Legitimizing Workforce Reduction: A Review on Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak to the Economy

COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact business organizations around the world financially. One major concern is the common practice of business organizations to reduce their workforce. Issues might arise from such management decisions. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to analyze the legitimacy of managerial decisions relating to workforce reduction. The methodology of legal analysis was used by referring to and reviewing literature in Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Major findings show that management decisions on workforce reduction especially during the COVID-19 outbreak must accord with employment law and existing government measures. Apart from that, an employer's failure to resolve issues of workforce reduction according to the law and government measures would result in trade disputes and eventual court action. The findings of this study can assist employers to make sound management decisions with valid reasons in situations, not within their control.

The Collapse of the Appellate Body as a Determining Factor of the WTO’s Future

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the leading institutions involved in global economic regulation. Its purposes are to ensure multilateral cooperation on the liberalization of international trade, harmonize existing standards and requirements, and peacefully resolve trade disputes between countries. Since 11 December 2019, dispute resolution has been handicapped due to the consistent blocking of the appointment of members to the WTO Appellate Body (AB) by the United States. This has reduced the multilateral trading system’s (MTS) predictability and threatens its final decay. In this article, the fundamental and formal causes of the collapse are described, and its circumvention mechanisms and effectiveness are discussed. At the same time, an assessment is given of the possibility to overcome the collapse in 2021, considering the change of the U.S. president and other events. Special attention is paid to Russia’s position and its current and potential losses. Finally, the issue of dispute resolution through regional trade agreements is proposed for discussion. The fundamental reasons for the collapse were the shifting balance of power in the world order and the WTO’s inflexibility in adjusting the rulebook and its procedures. The main reasons for the U.S.’ dissatisfaction are objective but based on formalities; the blockage of the AB is an overreaction. Moreover, the U.S.’ position on this issue has not changed with the new president. As a result, there is abuse of the current situation as WTO members file appeals “into the void.” Existing tools to circumvent the collapse are partial and not yet popular among WTO members. Russia needs to resume the AB’s work to complete previously started high-profile disputes and to defend its interests in the future.

Ethics and Economics of Medical Supplies in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The distribution of healthcare resources across local and global communities has triggered alarms throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Injustice and inefficiency in the transfer of lifesaving medical supplies are magnified by the urgency of the public health crisis, ramified through pre-existing socioeconomic tensions, and further aggravated by frictions that plague international cooperation and global governance. Aim: This article explores the ethical and economic dimensions of medical supplies, from the microcosm of distributive algorithms to the macroscope of medical trade. Methods: It first analyses the performance, strategy, and social responsibility of ventilator-suppliers through a series of case studies. Then, the authors seek to redress the need-insensitivity of existing distributive models with a new price-based and need-conscious algorithm. Next, the paper empirically traces the exchange of medical supplies across borders, examines the effect of trade disputes on medical reliance and pandemic preparedness, and makes a game-theoretical case for sharing critical resources with foreign communities. Conclusion: The authors argue that the equitable allocation of medical supplies must consider the contexts and conditions of need; that political barriers to medical transfers undermine a government’s capacity to contain the contagion by reducing channels of access to medical goods; and that self-interested public policies often turn out to be counterproductive geopolitical strategies. In the post-pandemic world, the prospect of medical justice demands a balanced ethical and economic approach that cuts across the borders of nation-states and the bounds of the private sector and the public sphere.