Euroasian Union - Belarus

Back in 2014, Belarus and Russia were part of a five country agreement called the Eurasian Union.  This union was to go into effect on January 1, 2015.  Before the plan went into effect, Belarus and Russia both enacted ADDITIONAL regulations at their borders.  Belarus added additional regulations on dairy and meat from Russia.  In turn, Russia banned all dairy imports from Belarus.  This signaled that, while the two countries both agreed to the union, it was more of “window dressing” and were not completely committed to opening up trade between the two countries.  This has led to increased sanctions between the two countries and the essentially the end of the Eurasian Union.  Lawmakers are returning to the negotiation table to see about working out a new agreement. [1] 

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[1] Belarus Digest. Astapena Ryhor. December 11, 2014. Belarus Reinstates Customs Control on the Border with Russia: the End of the Eurasian Union? belarusdigest.com/story/belarus-reinstates-customs-control-border-russia-end-eurasian-union-20726

Foreign Trade Zones - Norway

Norway has no foreign trade zones and does not plan to establish any.[1] While Norway has trade agreements with many countries and supports many American companies, it is more focused on the financial well-being of their own company and corporations.  By doing this, Norway is trying to limit the amount of foreign goods that are brought into the country. 

The government collects the revenue from these items.  This may have a lot to do with the wealth that Norway has as a country.  They have continually shown progressive actions to protect their country and its population.  Looks like they will continue to offer these benefits for the foreseeable future.  

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[1] U.S. Department of State, Diplomacy in Action. Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs. 2011 Investment Climate Statement – Norway. March 2011. www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2011/157338.htm

Belarus Turnkey Projects

Belarus is looking to Russia for turnkey projects, but not in the form of factories or plants.  The Architecture and Construction Ministry of Belarus has been tasked with finding ways to increase their production and that included looking at working out of the country.  These turnkey projects would be in the form of housing and urban planning projects.  One of the largest exports that Belarus sends to Russia, specifically Pskov Oblast, is building products.  These projects would help create more opportunities for the people of Pskov Oblast along with some much-needed infrastructure.

Export Strategy for Belgium

There are over 400 companies that export chocolate from Belgium.  Twenty-five percent of them handle only chocolate, while the remaining seventy-fiver percent are more diversified and involved in equipment, chemicals, etc. 

Over 400 companies.  This must be easy, right?  Many of the companies us trial and error when expanding into foreign markets.  The supply certain products in hope that something will stick.  They track sales and quickly move to the next product if one is failing. If a particular product is selling well in a few areas, they really begin to push it on to the market.  An article by Filip Abraham describes this process.  The link here, https://www.vlerick.com/en/research-and-faculty/knowledge-items/knowledge/the-success-of-belgian-chocolate-export is to a website that describes this process and calls this a “beachhead.”  

A beachhead is the second step in the expansion process.  “This happens when the exporting firm starts selling large volumes of the chocolate product in a specific geographic market. The beachhead is strengthened when the firm sells the same product in more and more destinations.”  This lowers costs (shipping/storage) and increases revenue.  A true win, win for the company!

Once they have established the market for their product, the company needs to maintain it with selling valuable products at a reasonable cost to the customer.  They can also be looking for new markets to grow into, to further expand their reach.

WTO and the TRIPS Agreement

Germany has been a quite player in the TRIPS agreement world.  According to the WTO website (https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_by_country_e.htm), Germany has only had two cases in regards to this topic. 

The first was settled in April of 2012.  It was brought by the United States and the original complaint traced back to 2004 when the US requested meetings with the Governments of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain.  The US was seeking clarifications on the subsidies that these countries were giving out to companies that were seeking to upgrade the Airbus line of aircrafts, specifically the A380.  The subsidies were inconsistent with the SCM Agreement and GATT 1994.  

A panel was established to review this and their findings were that the subsidies and preferential loans were in contrast to the agreement.  The Appellate Body upheld this finding and instituted new procedures for these types of transactions.

*Noteworthy: A separate dispute brought by the European Union against the United States for subsidies allegedly provided to Boeing also went in front of the Appellate Body.  The panel report in that dispute was given to WTO Members on March, 31 2011.  Both the EU and the US appealed parts of the panel’s findings in this case.

The second case was in October of 2006.  It was in regards to the same action of the 2004 complaint.  This case was ultimately terminated on October 7, 2007 because the authority of the panel lapsed and as a result the work continued.

Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability of Norway

Today we are focusing on Norway.  Norway has ample energy resources that are driving its oil and gas exports.  It may seem odd since they deal with oil and gas, but Norway is also a leader in its fish and forestry sustainability as well.  The government has taken many steps to ensure that the fish and forestry industries will continue to produce for years to come. 

In a paper found online here: https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/fin/berekraftig/nat_action.pdf the authors layout the plan on how the Norwegian government is going to do this.  Page 33 section 1.5.4 describes the main objectives of the government in relations to natural resources.  There are specific sections for energy production and use, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry and agriculture.  Each section lists many steps and efforts specific to each topic. 

Norway is also ramping up efforts to reduce the effects of hazardous substances.  Their main objectives in this area are to limit chemical production and reduce emissions.  The government has increased their awareness of emissions and have created new regulations and restrictions on industries that are the biggest offenders. 

Since Norway has one of the lowest population densities among OECD members (https://www.oecd.org/env/country-reviews/2450976.pdf) they have expansive forestry and some of the most varied wildlife in Europe.  This has led to the creation of a national forest program to help protect this resource (https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/fin/berekraftig/nat_action.pdf page 35).

Just three days ago, February 22, 2017, Norway was crowned as the “World’s Best Democracy” (http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/trumps-address-to-congress/norway-world-s-best-democracy-we-asked-its-people-why-n720151) so it shows both that the people care and that the politicians listen.  In the article by Alexander Smith and Ben Adams, they describe that Norway has built an “$880 billion rainy-day piggy bank” because of their offshore oil strike in the 1960’s. 

This money has allowed the government to invest in alternative fuel research (which seems counterproductive to their financial well-being) as well as education and healthcare services for their citizens.  This is in attempt to sustain their current position as well as preserve their natural resources for future generations to enjoy.

Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability of the UK

Today, let’s talk about the UK and how it pertains to natural resources and sustainability. Geological natural resources for the UK include coal, petroleum, natural gas, limestone, chalk, gypsum, silica, rock salt, china clay, iron ore, tin, silver, gold, and lead. Agricultural natural resources for the United Kingdom includes arable land, wheat, barely, and sheep   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_United_Kingdom).

According to the OECD, the United Kingdom has been making changes to their environmental policies since the late 1980s. They also are committed to the highest levels of government to the environmental protection and sustainable development. In terms of future progress the UK plans on making to change there are 4 areas they plan on improving. The 4 areas are reduction of the pollution burden, nature conservation and landscape preservation, integration of environmental and economic decision making, and international co-operation.  To see what the OECD’s plan is for these 4 areas, click here: https://www.oecd.org/env/country-reviews/2452198.pdf

Here is a chart from the Climate Change Agreements company, click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/587616/LIT_8080.pdf

. This chart shows The Environmental Agency certifications that the textiles energy intensive sector has gotten and plans to get in the United Kingdom from July 1^st, 2015 until June 30, 2017.