Defending the providenwaterfront.org position on maintaining ports

On reviewing the website it occurred to me the probably the single most important issue is the job opportunities outlined in the http://providenceworkingwaterfront.org/index.php/providences-working-waterfront/economic-impact/ . The single most important issue was the ability to bring Port-sector workers earning on average, about $50,000 a year. This is critical for the RHODE ISLAND economy
because, being a state that has been hard hit by  housing market crisis, locals will be able to pay their mortgages and want to stay in RI. this is also, a way to sustain the local economy and enable local government to collect taxes from people “ who can afford to pay them”. It is imperative that job opportunities
like these be encouraged to stay.. One key thing here is, the infrastructure is already in place and currently bringing, hundreds of millions of dollars in total economic impact for the region. according to the site, From over 2,000 ships per year use the port to offload salt, cement, asphalt, and petroleum products,
and load up with recycled metal for export to international markets & 9 million tons of cargo move through the port every year." It will be a huge opportunity cost we to lose this. We need to consider
that there will be no replacement for these jobs if we turn this waterfront port facility into for example a “ housing resort”. Although that on the average can bring in huge capital at onces, but, NOT continuously as the ports facilities can.

Over time though. We need to understand that port facilities cannot be man made “easily” to adjust to economic conditions. It is harder adjust zoning regulations to facilitate an existing waterfront property that is consider for housing to be turned into a port facility. So losing this facility can destroy an already
struggling economy and lose all the business it brings to the state. This is supported by the arguments made for on site. For example, the working waterfront area along the Allens Avenue Corridor– north of Thurbers Avenue and south of the relocated I-195 – would be rezoned for mixed uses such as residential condominiums, marinas, hotels, retail shops, and restaurants. Artist renderings in these planning documents portray an idyllic waterfront filled with glitzy new condos, hotels, and boats moving about the port.
Completely absent from these renderings are existing working waterfront businesses, many of whom have continuously operated in the same  location for over 100 years http://providenceworkingwaterfront.org/index.php/zoning-issues/. While it would seem easier to move from port facilities and completely turn the economy into and housing industry. The existing infrastructure is already suffering from the effects of housing market down turn – an added reason not to make this  change. I feel it can  or could take 10 years to reclaim any profits from the housing infrastructure that is being proposed for this area. The local economy would have lost 10 plus years of stead income and a completely ruined port infrastructure, plus many many hundreds of thousands of dollars of job opportunities in the new England region.

So we need to rethink our decision to set up condominiums in this critical infrastructure. It is time to think about the trade off. Will it benefit RI as a state to embrace a highly already struggling housing market? Or will it be more prudent to encourage current economic sustainable port activity, critical to the region in this area with some modification if necessary to include housing market options, but carefully planned. Ultimately, the verdict is on the conscious of the political leaders and the future they want for Rhode island. Nonetheless, the picture is clear, we cannot lose what we have now, for what we do NOT have and hope that what we don’t have will provide a better future when all the economic pointers showing us with a direction whose benefit
will not outweight the cost?

To conclude. I would say, http://providenceworkingwaterfront.org/index.php/zoning-issues/ I support the idea of the over the coming months, Providence Working Waterfront Alliance members will be working with city and state officials to ensure that the appropriate zoning is put into place to protect the economic vibrancy
of the Port of Providence. Hopefully they will see the logic and compelling reasons why we cannot lose the ports and the income it brings compared to any housing infrastructure at this critical time in the history of RI and more importantly the nation.

South africa and the southern region trade opportunities

With South Africa being one of the emerging BRIC countries among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, it is no telling, how this country will benefit from recognition world wide and improve its trade relations with neighbours and the world. According to http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/ the key sectors of growth being the tourism, mining and minerals and internet communications in African markets has placed this country in a strategic position for long term growth.  Local industries and growth opportunities seems to be on the rise. The south african business info site went on further to indicate that,  “South Africa will launch an ambitious project aimed at boosting its "green" economy and reducing the country's carbon footprint during the UN Climate Change Conference starting in Durban on 28 November. “ On this note the country is doing well, however, like most regions the Southern Africa Development Community consisting of 9 countries in that region according to http://www.hedprogram.org/tabid/225/itemid/115/Seed-Trade-In-Southern-Africa.aspx recognize that “Most small-scale Southern African farmers have little or no access to high quality seeds.  Forced to make do with inferior seeds, their productivity suffers.  Poor roads and distribution systems, fragmented national seed policies, inappropriate regulations, and dysfunctional regulatory institutions all conspire to limit the movement of seeds and their availability within and between countries in Southern Africa”.
This I believe is an area to explore since being a member of the region this can force lots of migration to one country forcing the need to enact laws that would inhibit migration in large numbers and subsequently defeating the whole purpose behind any regional alliances. But with that said, south africa is not without its social political and economic issues. With potential in the wool industry. Local farmers are still struggling to meet the competition and demand, being that subsistent farming is a part of life in this part of the world. There are programs in place to improve the lives of farmers.. One example mentioned by http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/ is in the wool industry is that “On their own, these farmers would struggle to make a sustainable living but thanks to a mentorship and support programme offered by the National Wool Growers Association of South Africa (NWGA), these same farmers are now serious players in the wool export industry. As a policy recommendation, this presents a window of opportunity for the government in partnership with regional body to look into ways of working collectively in all industries where they could improve their competitive advantage, perhaps things like monetary policies would not fit in now. According to http://www.uneca.org/srdc/sa/publications/ECA_SA-Newsletter_Issue3-07.pdf, “The mining sector has always been the bedrock on which much of the southern African economy is founded. The sector accounts for 60% of the region’s foreign exchange earnings and is a significant employer.”It does occur to me that using a region’s strength can be a bargaining chip in overcoming weakness. As another policy, I would deem it fit for south Africa and other nations in the region to look into trade agreements with nations whose competitive advantage is in areas they are weaker in to bring in and train expertise for strengthening those weaker industries in south Africa and the region.

Benefits and effects of regional agreements.

After reviewing the agreements there were several things I noticed. Like many regional trade agrements this one brings together the organizations multiple countries for the purpose of multilateral trade accross regions..According to ASEAN http://www.aseansec.org/about_ASEAN.html   The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand... The ASEAN Charter entered into force on 15 December 2008. A gathering of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers was held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to mark this very historic occasion for ASEAN. With regards to the advantages of this agreement.I found that the areas that interest me the most in this agreement are 1. accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations 2.To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres; 3 To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples.  According to the world bank regional trade agreements are signed for a varity of reasons http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGEP2005/Resources/GEP107053_Ch03.pdf, however
 The impact of these agreements on trade determines the extent to which broader political and social objectives are achieved. It is difficult to identify an agreement that has fostered wider political objectives without achieving economic integration. The world bank further states that  Successful regional agreements might be expected to increase trade between partners relative to those countries’ trade with the rest of the world. this reminds me about  Ecowas, economic communitity of west african states that my home country liberia is a part off. http://www.comm.ecowas.int/sec/index.php?id=about_a&lang=en This group much like the asean is meant provide regional integration among countries in the region. The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen countries, founded in 1975. Its mission is to promote economic integration in "all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters ... I would strongly recommend many nations stay part of some regional agreement for simple things advantage of most favored nation clauses, lowered tariffs and trade and exchange of opportunities. As a disadvantage, many companies are unlikely to meet up to the standards set as natural endowment resources are not necessarily the same. issues like pace of development and social/ political issues can be a setback for improvements in these forms of regional agreements. None the less, this can be implemented as a policy to ensure that at the least, any advantages it would being to a nation part of these agreements be taken advantage of.

How can less developed countries use the shipping industry to improve their exposure to trade. ?

I found that the visit to moran exposed the level of cash flow and heavy operations management that is involved with shipping agency. I soon realized that shipping as a whole does provide an extensive field of expertise that many job opportunities can provide. So, I began to look around, I then saw the huge reasoning behind why Liberia my home country uses this as an opportunity to maintain, But I figured very quickly that many other things can be done to utilize the shipping industry and perhaps utilized by other nations with free ports.. I found very quickly how the shipping registry option was a lucrative business opportunity that liberia took advantage of. http://www.liscr.com/liscr/ opportunity...” Liberian Registry – the second largest in the world – includes over 3500 ships of more than 112 million gross tons, which represents 11 percent of the world’s ocean going fleet. As the world’s premier open ship registry, the Liberian Maritime Program is renowned for quality, efficiency, safety and service. Likewise, the Liberian Registry is recognized at the top of every industry “white-list” including the International Maritime Organization and the major Port State Control authorities such as the US Coast Guard as well as the Paris and Tokyo MOU regimes. Considering that there are many less developed countries accross Africa, especially those with sea ports and some times unstable governments.. This is one way to show to the rest of the world they can improve trade relations world wide and meet international standards by partnering like the liberian ship registry. While this can take time, Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR, LLC), a U.S. owned and operated company that provides the day-to-day management for the Republic of Liberia's (ROL) ship and corporate registry.

.. With many ships flying the flag of the country owning to the relax laws of the country, a huge revenue generating opportunity seems highly possible. Of course things like ISO standards and other certifications required by business owners who request these ships to move their merchandise may be a requirement.. But the nations flying the flags only collect their fees and only have to worry about ensuring the ships meet the minimum recommendations.. As a recommendation to nations looking to take advantage of the shipping  arrangements, first partnering with organizations that understand and meet the standards of international maritime organization would be the first best way to get the accreditation necessary to explore this opportunity. Since there are Less developed nations that are doing a lot better then Liberia, I do feel have the potential of meeting these standards a lot easier should spin off a whole new industry, by creating jobs for that nation, skilled labor and  huge unexplored maritime opportunities. Besides that, shipping agency options is another way for nations who wish to gain recognition and improve their international exposure. As a policy suggestion, my only potion would be to begin exploring maritime skills in specific areas that could easily be used in the industry or by the international maritime organization.This can provide a talent pool for a nation interested in exploring maritime related development

Why is it so important for developing nations to be involved in trade, and what institutions and policies exist to help developing nations?

This week my group focused on International Sugar Agreement. In an attempt to focus of developing firm and worthwhile poilicies for third world/developing  countries, I believe the world trade organization should live up to its core value system first of all of requesting nations like the EU, Japan and most western countries who have huge tarrifs on importing sugar into their nations to agree to a quota system for sugar manufacturing. The WTO is said to be where countries who have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered managed to enter negotiations. This has helped to open markets for trade. http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/who_we_are_e.htm
According to the world trade organization  and http://sugarinds.blogspot.com/2011/06/world-top-10-sugar-producing-countries.html ..EU consumes about 1/3  of the worlds sugar consumption  and so the likelyhood of relinquishing sugar rights in production and consumption is unlikely. In addition Eu & the us provide subsidies and a high import tariff make it difficult for other countries to export to the EU states, or compete with it on world markets. The U.S. sets high sugar prices to support its producers with the effect that many sugar consumers have switched to corn syrup (beverage manufacturers) or moved out of the country (candy makers).


As a result of all this and a policy suggestion, It is only a far economic and globalization strategy if less developed countries are be given a chance to prove their abilities too by being allowed to export some of this sugar in many different parts of the world.. It is further stated that "International trade is largely defined by preferential trade agreements in which sugar producing countries enjoy access to the higher priced domestic markets of the EU or USA through preferential access. Yet, The worldbank back suggest according to http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/257994-1215457178567/Sugar_Profile.pdf
Sugar production in LDCs-Less developed countries is growing rapidly. Annual growth in sugar production in LDCs has averaged more than five percent - the highest amongst all groups of developing countries– although from a relatively small baseline. Growth is expected to continue in the LDC sugar-producing countries given increased transitional EBA sugar quota access and zero-duty
access after 2009. Thus, I would suggest that sugar producing nations be given the opportunity to produce through a world Trade organization agreement and be given the expertise necessary to be competitive, through some quota system. The WTO should enforce that all nations be provided a quota system that can ensure LDC have the ability to compete even if the scale is small in global markets to ensure the vibrancy of economic interdependence. The next and future agreements should open doors for less developed nations to compete. Emerging less developing nations should take advantage of their peak sugar seasons and improve their technologies to compete globally. This will create jobs in their countries and advance their recognition internationally.

Trade Wars

After reading both articles I began to plunder to see how  imposing tariffs between the two nations benefited jobs particulary in the USA in the long run and then china in any way. So, I started looking but instead of finding what I really was looking for. I found each side had a valid argument. After the article was written in February regarding the tire -while there are legitimate reasons why this tariffs was imposed on each side according the China Post, “Obama's decision angered China. They accused Washington of violating World Trade Organization rules and breaking a commitment made by Group of 20 developed and developing country leaders not to impose new protectionist measures.” Yet, the USA maintains that, China post again stating,  “The United States has defended Obama's decision as legal under an anti-import surge mechanism China agreed to let other countries use when it joined the WTO in 2001. The dispute is still in litigation at the WTO. The US China Business Council acknowledged in its report that imports of tires from China “are indeed down.” http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2010/08/27/270268/Obama-tire.htm

Ultimately, The Chinese decision hit the us poultry industry hard. The La times stated recently, “The price of American chicken, including the prized feet euphemistically called "phoenix talons" in China, shot up between 50% and 100%, which will cost the U.S. poultry industry an estimated $1 billion in sales by the end of this year.” This is a huge impact on usa jobs. 

http://mobile.latimes.com/p.p?a=rp&m=b&postId=877900&curAbsIndex=0&resultsUrl=DID%3D6%26DFCL%3D1000%26DSB%3Drank%2523desc%26DBFQ%3DuserId%253A7%26DL.w%3D%26DL.d%3D10%26DQ%3DsectionId%253A6905%26DPS%3D0%26DPL%3D3 On the other hand, the Chinese economy is hurting from the war between both countries.  La time stated further that , “Imports of U.S. chicken to China have plunged 90% since the imposition of the tariffs, which are largely seen as retaliation for U.S. duties of 35% on Chinese tires.” This is also impacting the industry of on the Chinese front that depended largely on imported chicken from the US.

In terms of a policy that can resolve this issue. There does not seem to be light in the tunnel. The case is still in court and the WTO is being left to make all decisions. As lately as September 21^st  2011, the LA times reported that both sides are still defending their position with counter arguments. The US stated,"China seems to have failed to observe numerous transparency and due-process requirements, failed to properly explain the basis for its findings and conclusions, incorrectly calculated dumping margins, incorrectly calculated subsidy rates and made unsupported findings of injury to China's domestic industry," the trade office said.In a response Wednesday September 21^st , China's Ministry of Commerce released a brief statement rejecting the U.S. claim."China's anti-dumping measures follow the law and are in accordance with WTO rules," the statement said. "China will study requests from the U.S. carefully and handle them under the WTO's dispute settlement system."

 What’s missing in the puzzle is the political motivation on each side to raise tarrifs. President obama’s administration depends heavily on the unions . The tire industry plays a huge role in many unionized jobs. What amazes me the most is  none of these measures seem to have had a positive impact on jobs other then politics.. It seems more to me as a war for supremacy then a war on tires and chicken feet. China is still showing it prowrees and or potential  world power abilitiesl subtly, ie trip to the space, http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/09/29/with-latest-launch-china-plots-course-for-space-station/, while American making its final space misson  bearly 3 months before, Kennedy Space Center for the final launch of NASA's space-shuttle program http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2082213,00.html#ixzz1ZPEwVXbUAmerica  losing its grip slowly credit dropped by s&P rating. And china on the other hand holding the largest of America’s debt. This conjoined twins relationship is becoming a subtle diabolical issue.  While this  is an interesting analogy, cnn cnn money  on   January 18, 2011 stated  “ -- If you owed somebody a lot of money, let's say for the sake of argument nearly $900 billion, you probably wouldn't want to make this creditor angry, right?  Yet cnn money states “, as strange as it may seem, the fact that the U.S. is so heavily in hock to China may actually give America a bit of an edge in further economic negotiations. Further stated in the article by a contributor Paul R. La Monica according to Labres is . "If the bank lends you a thousand dollars, the bank owns you. But if the bank lends you a million dollars, you own the bank." As ironical as it sounds. It seems like the debt arrangement is working counter to the expectation of china. Hence America is still playing boss . http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/18/news/international/thebuzz/index.htm

Well, with all that said, the seemingly mutually prosperous union is slowly turning into an unending battle on both sides.. In terms of a fiscal policy that can resolve or mitigate this type of trade war. I would personally say, this is a difficult one go predict or consider an easy solution to.

Ultimately ,  for whatever reason, the domestic implications on both sides holds enough water to continue the fight legally. I feel it will take a need to set aside differences and find common ground on both sides in order to resolve this and even begin to think about a policy mutually beneficial in this matter.

Are All Barriers on Trade Intentional?

I had thought about focusing on the war on terror and its consequences, but fuel prices appealed to more so I decided to stick with that. With specific  reference to  fuel prices, as I think about my home country Liberia, I do not believe all barriers to trade are intentional. Everything in that country as with most places around the world are driven by the prices of fuel. Many Countries are endowed differently oil is certainly Not one of liberia's natural resources. Taking Liberian into consideration, as a comparative advantage - Liberia is  richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, primarily raw timber and rubber and is reviving those sectors

 Liberia focus mostly focuses on Agriculture sector where lots of  timber logging and Rubber is done making up the overly stated 70% of GDP <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/li.html>. To make my point, The employment opportunities is never really taken into account when these numbers are reported. Although the industry requires high consumption of fuel, you would think the employment opportunites will measure up. Unfortunately it does not. 85% of the population still remains unemployed. What makes up these numbers are mostly the multinational firms like firestone. The rest are small family farms are in turn to have to sell to their rubber to firestone firestone. The point here is, fuel prices seems to be doing a lot to limit the expansion among these little firms and it leaves a huge window for monopoly among a few companies with huge capital investments. I consider this an unintensional barrier to domestic expension in the industry.

Secoundly, majority of the population is spread across the country. For a country that returning from civil war and slowly attempting to rebuild its infrastructure, access to education is nothing to write home about. Most people are forced to come to the capital. Yet again, fuel not being a natural resource or access to is  a high expense for the nation own's fuel refining company thus pushing the prices up and putting an added burden on the population. Subsequenty, Access to education and or paying for education is incredibly high. The literacy rate is believed to be about 50% yet another unintentional barrier  to trade.  http://liberia.usaid.gov/stories_from_the_field/node/255  Not too many companies are willing to go in on that basis. This poses a profound barrier due to the inbalanced in a trained labor  force  

With 85% of the population unemployed and a country that is culturally built on a informal welfare system. It poses a huge barrier for investors especially since the political climate is still struggling with reforming an international image. 

The prices of fuel also limits the number of employment opportunities in the over all  local  industries..The illiteracy rate limits the ability to establish industries that would turn these raw timber materials into finished goods. The Gas prices are only good enough to import finished goods since local industries do not have the capacity to export. The local thriving business are  owned by few people with huge investment capital opportunities who in turn exploit local citizens since there  is no local price control. See the link below for more details on the country <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/notesanddefs.html#2012>

agriculture: 70%

industry: 8%

services: 22% (2000 est.)

Unemployment 85% (2003 est.)

Notwithstanding, I believe one policy that would dissolve these invisible unintentional barriers would be a need to invest more heavily in educating the younger population in critical areas of knowledge needs needed in the world  I say  particularly technology.  The firms engaged in these mining  rubber and timber industry should be required to  subsidized standardized formal elementary through high school education for all within their locality. And scholarships in technical and professional areas that will over the long term improve the country capacity building in the long term and preserve plus create job opportunities.This brings me to the local oil refinery leadership being a highly politicized position in the country.  This is only controlled by government and there has never been a discussion for a second refinery outside of a government owned one. On top of that, there is inside corruption activities where leadership in the ranks cross private deals for themselves, become  enriched in the role up to the point where the appointments are confidents of the president. However,  in defence of the monopolization o the oil resource, recent developments have suggest that oil have been found offshore 100 miles into Liberia atlantic waters. "The government has once again being in control of that resource signed a contract with chevron. " If approved, this three-year exploration project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010 and has a potential worth of US$10 billion. This agreement would create jobs for Liberians, increase the national income and help develop other sectors of the economy."  > http://allafrica.com/stories/201009010484.html   ..  All though, I still feel these contracts may still lack a true element that should benefit the population more then they are now, hopefully this should  shift the tide in reducing the abstract barriers to trade In favor of a policy that creates jobs for the less fortunate population