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1) Trade protectionism will most likely affect which aspect of a company's operations?
A) selecting employees
B) investing short-term capital
C) acquiring foreign supplies
D) relocating personnel overseas
Answer: C
Learning Outcome: Define the fundamental concepts of international business
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
6) Assume a government places restrictions on a specific product from a specific foreign country. What
would be the government's most likely concern about the foreign country's response?
A) the foreign producers raising the prices of their exports
B) the foreign country restricting its own imports
C) the foreign country restricting its exports in that industry
D) the foreign producers seeking other markets
Answer: B
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
7) Assume a government is considering import restrictions on sugar because sugar imports are hurting
the domestic industry. Which of the following groups is LEAST likely to speak out on the subject?
A) politicians in areas that grow sugar
B) employees of sugar companies
C) sugar company owners
D) sugar consumers
Answer: D
8) What is the most likely reason that consumers rarely protest import restrictions that raise the prices
they pay for a specific product?
A) They reason that if the import restrictions are removed, the foreign producers will raise their prices to
those of the domestic producers anyway.
B) Many countries prohibit consumers to band together to influence political actions.
C) Typically, although the added costs to consumers for a given product are high in aggregate, they are
fairly trivial for most individual consumers.
D) They reason that if they do something to hurt domestic employment for one product, the displaced
workers will then do something that will hurt their own employment.
Answer: C
9) Unemployed workers are most apt to form a pressure group to support ________.
A) export restrictions
B) import restrictions
C) price limitations
D) import subsidies
Answer: B
Learning Outcome: Discuss the roles of exporting, importing, and countertrade in international business
12) All of the following are generally true about trade-displaced workers EXCEPT which one?
A) They move abroad to take new jobs.
B) They earn less in their new jobs than they earned in their old ones.
C) They spend their unemployment benefits on living rather than retraining.
D) They have difficulty finding new work because of educational deficiencies.
Answer: A
13) The rationale for the infant-industry argument for trade protection is that ________.
A) incubator centers in which business, government, and academia cooperate will develop
entrepreneurial companies
B) a country should give one firm in an industry a monopoly status so that it will grow large enough to
be competitive internationally
C) it takes time for an industry to become competitive in world markets, so protection is needed to help
this industry pass through the critical period
D) lower restrictions should be placed on products coming from countries where a government has a
large sphere of political influence
Answer: C
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
14) Which of the following statements most likely undermines the infant-industry argument?
A) Total unit costs decrease through economies of scale.
B) High tariffs to prevent foreign competition increase government revenues in the protected country.
C) Domestic entrepreneurs need assistance to compete in industries with high entry barriers.
D) Experience of operating over time triggers higher productivity and global competitiveness.
Answer: B
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Critical Thinking
15) A problem that can arise in using trade protectionism to develop international competitiveness for a
domestic industry is that ________.
A) it is difficult to identify industries that have a high probability of reaching competitiveness
B) assistance should be given only if entry barriers to new firms are very low
C) the protecting countries lose too much revenue from import duties
D) a short product life cycle makes the industry quickly noncompetitive
Answer: A
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
16) Which of the following is a problem with the infant-industry argument for protection?
A) Most developed countries increasingly have a larger portion of retirees than youth.
B) Consumer groups become very active in protesting the higher prices that result during infancy.
C) Other countries retaliate by limiting exports of technology needed by the infant industry producers.
D) If the industry does not lower costs sufficiently to be competitive, it becomes a formidable pressure
group for continued protection.
Answer: D
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
17) The industrialization argument for trade protection in developing countries is based on the
assumption that ________.
A) the protected industry will become competitive over time with economies of scale
B) unemployment and underemployment exists in rural areas, so little agricultural output is lost as
people move into industrial jobs
C) subsidizing production is a better means of protection than limiting imports
D) it is better to depend on buying agricultural surpluses from developed countries than to produce these
agricultural goods
Answer: B
18) Unlike the infant-industry argument, the industrialization argument for trade protection ________.
A) requires independence from other countries
B) stresses labor-intensive production methods despite high costs
C) emphasizes use of locally available raw materials for manufacturing inputs
D) presumes that economic growth will occur even if domestic manufactured prices are not globally
competitive
Answer: D
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
21) Which term refers to restricting imports in order to boost domestic production and consumption of
goods that would otherwise be imported?
A) import substitution
B) terms-of-trade
C) most-favored nation
D) in-sourcing
Answer: A
24) The relationship between import substitution policies and export-led development policies is best
characterized by which of the following?
A) Import-substitution policies are more likely to lead to production of mature products, whereas export-
led development policies result in production of growth products.
B) The two are hard to distinguish because production under import substitution may eventually be
exported.
C) Production under import substitution policies, as opposed to export-led development policies, is more
likely to be located in urban areas.
D) Production under import substitution policies, as opposed to export-led development policies, is
likely to be more labor-intensive.
Answer: B
25) Advocates of the comparable access argument for trade protection primarily assert that domestic
industries ________.
A) will deteriorate in countries that have lower import restrictions than their trading partners
B) should be required to implement export-led development policies on foreign competitors
C) are entitled to the same access to foreign markets as foreign industries have to their markets
D) are forced to lower prices for domestic consumers because of foreign import restrictions
Answer: C
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
27) Country X wants to eliminate its balance of trade deficit while simultaneously keeping prices low
for imported essentials. Which of the following methods would most likely achieve these dual
objectives?
A) devaluing its currency
B) enacting selective import restrictions
C) using tight monetary policies to deflate price levels
D) spurring productivity increases through general tax breaks for industry
Answer: B
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
28) All of the following are reasons a country might institute import restrictions to improve its balance
of trade position with other countries EXCEPT to ________.
A) maintain essential industries
B) reduce imports and encourage exports
C) get comparable access for its companies
D) bargain away restrictions by other countries
Answer: A
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
29) Country X is withholding goods from international markets in an attempt to raise prices abroad.
Such actions will be most effective for Country X if the nation ________.
A) supports the development of substitutions
B) provides domestic industries with tax breaks
C) receives low-interest loans from foreign banks
D) holds a monopoly on the product or resource
Answer: D
32) All of the following are potential problems of using export controls EXCEPT which one?
A) There is an incentive for other countries to develop production of their own.
B) Domestic producers may have less incentive to increase output.
C) Prices go up in the country imposing the controls.
D) There is more incentive for smuggling.
Answer: C
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
33) Exporting below cost or below the home country price is called ________.
A) countertrade
B) an export-led development policy
C) a strategic trade policy
D) dumping
Answer: D
34) There are several reasons for a company to sell products abroad at either below cost or below the
price in the home country. Which of the following is one of these reasons?
A) encouraging foreign consumers to try new products
B) improving the exporting country's terms of trade
C) gaining imports that are sold below cost
D) following import substitution objectives
Answer: A
35) Countries sometimes fear that foreign producers are pricing their exports artificially low. This fear is
most likely based on the assumption that ________.
A) foreign companies will lack the earnings to repay their foreign debt
B) insufficient earnings will be available to improve product technology
C) foreign producers will charge exorbitant prices after putting competitors out of business
D) developing countries will be unable to maintain critical industries needed in times of war
Answer: C
36) According to the optimum tariff theory, a foreign producer will most likely ________.
A) ship highly taxed goods internationally on a per-unit basis
B) lower its export prices if the importing country imposes an import tax on its products
C) assess a tax on goods shipped internationally based on a percentage of the goods' value
D) seek mport tariffs by using the comparable access argument
Answer: B
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
38) A possible drawback to the essential industry argument for import protectionism is ________.
A) that such protection hurts the protecting country's balance of payments
B) in times of military emergency, almost any product could be considered essential
C) other countries find supplies elsewhere
D) unemployment increases in the protecting country
Answer: B
39) Defense arguments are sometimes used to prevent exports to unfriendly countries. This runs the risk
of the targeted country ________.
A) becoming politically destabilized
B) removing import restrictions
C) finding alternative sources of supply
D) banding with other countries to form a cartel
Answer: C
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
40) What is the main motive for countries' protection of their film/cinema industries?
A) to keep prices low for their citizens
B) to improve their balance of payments
C) to diversify their economies
D) to maintain their cultural sovereignty
Answer: D
41) The most common type of tariff is the ________ tariff.
A) export
B) import
C) transit
D) ad valorem
Answer: B
44) Which term refers to a tariff or duty assessed as a percentage of an item's value?
A) specific duty
B) effective tariff
C) ad valorem duty
D) compound tariff
Answer: C
45) What is the primary difficulty associated with dismantling developed countries' agricultural
subsidies?
A) Rural areas in the United States, the European Union, and Japan are disproportionately represented in
their governments.
B) Developing countries put pressure on developed countries to maintain the subsidies so that they
receive food products at a lower price.
C) The subsidies are used to counter the commodity agreements set up mainly by developing countries.
D) The subsidies are at the consumer, rather than producer, level, and everyone benefits from the lower
prices.
Answer: A
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
46) In most cases, which type of government protection assistance is most controversial?
A) business development services
B) foreign business contacts
C) trade expositions
D) tariffs
Answer: D
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
48) Most countries have agreed on how to assess values when their customs agents levy tariffs. Which
of the following best expresses this agreement?
A) They should use the value of similar goods arriving at about the same time.
B) They should use the declared invoice price unless they doubt its authenticity.
C) They should assess a value based on local costs to produce a similar product.
D) They should assess a value based on the expected final consumer sales price.
Answer: B
54) The fact that there are few reciprocal agreements among countries on the licensing of professionals
most likely means that ________.
A) universities' study abroad programs do not enable students to obtain dual degrees and licenses from
more than one country
B) more service functions are being handled as not-for-profit
C) people immigrate to those countries with the highest standards so as to more easily become licensed
anywhere else
D) there is an effective limitation on trade in services
Answer: D
Learning Outcome: Discuss the roles of exporting, importing, and countertrade in international business
55) A physician, who is a citizen of and licensed in Country A, meets the professional licensing
requirements of Country B. The physician will most likely ________.
A) have to pass a language proficiency exam before being allowed to work in Country B
B) not be allowed to work in the not-for-profit sector in Country A or Country B for a set period
C) have to get a work permit from Country B's immigration authorities to work in Country B
D) have to work in the not-for-profit sector in Country B for a period of time before being permitted to
work for a profit-seeking organization
Answer: C
56) The U.S. automobile industry has attempted to counter import competition in all the following ways
EXCEPT ________.
A) concentrating on market niches that initially had less import competition
B) lobbying for customs deposits so that importers' costs would be raised
C) moving some production to lower-cost countries and exporting to the United States
D) effecting internal adjustments, such as cost efficiencies and improved quality
Answer: B
Learning Outcome: Discuss the roles of exporting, importing, and countertrade in international business
57) Companies with ________ would most likely oppose global protectionist measures.
A) internationally integrated supply chains
B) domestically focused supply chains
C) multidomestic production facilities
D) product differentiation
Answer: A
58) In nearly half the cases in which U.S. firms have requested protection from imports, one or more
U.S. companies in the industry opposed the protection. What was the reason for opposing protection?
A) They did not want consumers to have to pay higher prices that would result from protection.
B) These were foreign-owned companies that saw the opportunity to serve the U.S. market.
C) They feared that they would lose foreign export markets because of retaliation.
D) They believed that they could compete against global and domestic rivals.
Answer: D
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
59) Which of the following is NOT causing greater complexity in the regulation of trade?
A) growth in export tariffs
B) services available over the Internet
C) heightened concern about product safety
D) development of new products that must be classified
Answer: A
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
60) The U.S. catfish industry petitioned the U.S. government for increased taxes on imported
Vietnamese fish, claiming that the fish were being sold below the cost of production. The U.S. catfish
industry was accusing the Vietnamese fish industry of ________.
A) dumping
B) using an embargo
C) subsidizing
D) using offsets
Answer: A
61) The U.S. catfish industry successfully petitioned the U.S. government to require that catfish varieties
imported from Vietnam be labeled as tra, basa, or pangasius. This is an example of which of the
following?
A) an embargo
B) a tariff
C) a nontariff barrier
D) a direct price influence
Answer: C
62) People who argue for lifting the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba claim all of the following EXCEPT
which one?
A) The embargo has not achieved its purpose of changing Cuba's economic and political system
B) U.S. companies lose Cuban sales to competitors from other countries.
C) Increased exposure to the United States would be a more effective force of change.
D) Cuba has largely become a market economy already.
Answer: D
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
63) People who argue for keeping the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba claim all of the following EXCEPT
which one?
A) There is not much economic potential from trade given Cuba's small population and low per capita
income.
B) Removal of the embargo will cause much more Cuban immigration to the United States.
C) If the Cuban economy is weakened just a bit more, the Cuban political-economic system cannot be
sustained.
D) There will be a backlash among countries supplying such commodities as sugar to the United States
if the U.S. buys them from Cuba instead.
Answer: B
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
64) The term protectionism, when applied to international trade, refers to governmental restrictions and
incentives to affect trade flows.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
65) In most cases, trade protectionism makes it easier for a company to buy what it needs and to sell
products in global markets.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
66) The group most likely to become involved in disputes concerning trade protectionism is consumers.
Answer: FALSE
67) Helping a struggling domestic company through import restrictions frequently causes other countries
to retaliate.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
68) The countries most likely to be successful at using trade retaliation are large trading countries.
Answer: TRUE
69) On average, workers displaced by imports earn higher wages in the new jobs they accept.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
70) The infant-industry argument for trade protection holds that an industry needs government
protection from imports until it becomes competitive enough in world markets.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
71) Infant-industry protection requires some segment of the economy to incur the higher costs when
local production is inefficient.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
72) The argument for using protectionism to bring about industrialization in developing countries
presumes that gains will occur because the industry will become internationally competitive.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
73) Export prices of primary products fluctuate less than export prices of manufactured products.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
74) Import substitution is a program promoting local production of products that would otherwise be
imported.
Answer: TRUE
75) Export-led development refers to the off-shoring of production.
Answer: FALSE
76) The argument for using import controls to promote exports is partially premised on the assumption
that other countries will remove their import restrictions as a result.
Answer: TRUE
77) The comparable access argument for import restrictions is a more valid economic argument for
products using small-scale technology than for products requiring substantial economies of scale to be
competitive.
Answer: FALSE
78) Countries typically establish export restrictions to encourage the development of substitute products.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
79) Export controls are highly effective for digital products, such as computers, TVs, and cameras.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
80) The lowering of a foreign producer's price as a result of an imposed import tax is known as an
optimum tariff.
Answer: TRUE
81) Home country consumers are typically active in preventing their domestic companies from dumping
products into foreign markets.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Synthesis
,3
82) The essential-industry argument holds that industries with potential export capabilities should be
protected.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
83) Import trade controls, but not export trade controls, can be used as a weapon of foreign policy.
Answer: FALSE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
85) An effective tariff is the sum of the ad valorem tariff plus the specific duty.
Answer: FALSE
86) Agricultural subsidies by developed countries impede the competitiveness of agricultural exports by
developing countries.
Answer: TRUE
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
87) When customs officials set a value on which to place an import tariff, they ordinarily use the
declared invoice price unless they doubt its authenticity.
Answer: TRUE
88) A quota is a quantitative limit on the amount of a product that can be traded.
Answer: TRUE
89) The purpose of "Made in" labels on imported products is to enable countries to keep records of the
origin of imports.
Answer: FALSE
90) Governments sometimes prohibit operations of private companies, foreign or domestic, in some
sectors because they feel these services should not be sold at a profit.
Answer: TRUE
91) At present there is little reciprocal recognition of professional licensing among countries.
Answer: TRUE
92) Companies that have integrated their supply chains internationally tend to lobby their home
governments for increased protectionist measures.
Answer: FALSE
93) When a company is seeking protection from imports, it can usually improve its chances of getting
that protection if it allies with most of the companies in the industry.
Answer: TRUE
94) The international regulatory situation for trade is becoming more, rather than less, complex.
Answer: TRUE
95) Every time countries enter a new trading agreement, service trade tends to grow more rapidly than
merchandise trade.
Answer: FALSE
96) What are the disadvantages of import restrictions in regards to creating domestic employment
opportunities?
Answer: One problem with restricting imports in order to create jobs is that other countries might
retaliate with their own restrictions. New import restrictions by a major country have usually brought
quick retaliation, sometimes causing more job losses than gains in industries protected by the new
restrictions. Even if no country retaliates, the restricting country will gain jobs one place and lose them
somewhere else, such as in import-handling jobs. Imports may also help create jobs in other industries,
and these industries may form pressure groups against protectionism.
Although it is reasonable to expect costs to decrease over time, they may not go down enough, which
poses two problems for protecting an industry. First, governments have difficulty identifying those
industries that have a high probability of success. If infant-industry protection goes to an industry that
does not reduce costs enough to make it competitive against imports, chances are its owners, workers,
and suppliers will constitute a formidable pressure group that may prevent the importation of a cheaper
competitive product. Second, even if policymakers can ascertain which industries are likely to succeed,
it does not necessarily mean that companies in those industries should receive governmental assistance.
Entrepreneurs may incur the costs and reap the benefits instead. For the infant-industry argument to be
fully viable, future benefits should exceed early costs.
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Synthesis
,3
98) Why do developing countries sometimes impose import restrictions to increase their levels of
industrialization?
Answer: Countries with a large manufacturing base generally have higher per capita incomes than do
countries without such a base. Moreover, a number of countries, such as the United States and Japan,
developed an industrial base while largely preventing competition from foreign-based production. Many
developing countries use protection to increase their level of industrialization because of industrial
countries' economic success and experience. Specifically, they believe:
a. surplus workers can more easily increase manufacturing output than they can increase agricultural
output.
b. inflows of foreign investment in the industrial area will promote growth.
c. prices and sales of traditional agricultural products and raw materials fluctuate too much, harming
economies that depend on too few of them.
d. markets and prices for industrial products will grow faster than those for agricultural products.
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Critical Thinking
99) What is the difference between import substitution policies and export-led development policies?
What are the potential effects of each?
Answer: Developing countries promote industrialization by restricting imports in order to encourage
local production for local consumption goods which they formerly imported. This is known as import
substitution. If the protected industries do not become efficient, consumers may have to support them by
paying higher prices or higher taxes. In contrast to import substitution, some countries have achieved
rapid economic growth by promoting export industries, an approach known as export-led development.
These countries try to develop industries for which export markets should logically exist.
Industrialization may result initially in import substitution, yet export-led development of the same
products may be feasible later.
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Synthesis
,3
100) Many companies and industries argue that they should have the same access to foreign markets as
foreign industries and companies have to their markets. In a short essay, discuss this issue of
"comparable access" or "fairness."
Answer: From an economic standpoint, comparable access argues that in industries in which increased
production will greatly decrease cost, either from scale economies or learning effects, producers that
lack equal access to a competitor's market will have a disadvantage in gaining enough sales to be cost-
competitive. The argument for equal access also is presented as one of fairness. There are at least two
arguments against this fairness doctrine. First, there are advantages of freer trade, even if imposed
unilaterally. Restrictions may deny one's own consumers lower prices. Second, governments would find
it cumbersome and expensive to negotiate separate agreements for each of the many thousands of
different products and services that might be traded.
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Synthesis
,3
101) What are common reasons that governments enact export restrictions? What are the possible
negative consequences of such restrictions?
Answer: A country may limit exports of a product that is in short supply worldwide in order to favor
domestic consumers. Typically, greater supply drops local prices beneath those in the intentionally
undersupplied world markets. However, this discourages domestic producers from increasing output and
encourages them to smuggle output to sell abroad. It also encourages foreign producers to develop
substitutes or production of their own. Countries also fear that foreign producers will price their exports
so artificially low that they drive domestic producers out of business, after which they charge monopoly
prices. However, competition among foreign producers limits their ability to charge exorbitant prices.
The ability to price low abroad may result from high domestic prices due to a lack of competition at
home or from home country governmental subsidies.
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Synthesis
,3
102) What is dumping? What are the possible effects of dumping on a country's economy?
Answer: When companies export below cost or below their home country price, this is called dumping.
Most countries prohibit imports of dumped products, but enforcement usually occurs only if the
imported product disrupts domestic production. If there is no domestic production, then the only host
country effect is a low price to its consumers. Companies may dump because they cannot otherwise
build a market abroad. They can afford to dump if the competitive landscape allows them to charge high
domestic prices or if their home country government subsidizes them. They may also incur short-term
losses abroad if they believe they can recoup those losses after eliminating competitors in the market.
Home country consumers or taxpayers seldom realize that they are, in effect, paying so that foreign
consumers have low prices. A company believing it is competing against dumped products may ask its
government to restrict the imports.
103) Briefly discuss the four noneconomic rationales for governmental intervention in the free
movement of trade: maintaining essential industries, preventing shipments to unfriendly countries,
maintaining or extending spheres of influence, and preserving national identity.
Answer:
a. Maintenance of essential industries (especially defense): A major consideration behind
governmental action on trade is the protection of essential domestic industries during peacetime so that a
country is not dependent on foreign sources of supply during war. This is called the essential-industry
argument. This argument for protection has much appeal in rallying support for import barriers.
However, in times of real crisis or military emergency, almost any product could be essential. Because
of the high cost of protecting an inefficient industry or a higher-cost domestic substitute, the essential-
industry argument should not be accepted without a careful evaluation of costs, real needs, and
alternatives. Once an industry becomes protected, that protection is difficult to terminate because
protected companies and their employees support politicians who will support their protection from
imports.
b. Prevention of shipments to unfriendly countries: Groups concerned about security often use defense
arguments to prevent exports, even to friendly countries, of strategic goods that might fall into the hands
of potential enemies or that might be in short supply domestically. Export constraints may be valid if the
exporting country assumes there will be no retaliation that prevents it from securing even more essential
goods from the potential importing country. Trade controls on nondefense goods also may be used as a
weapon of foreign policy to try to prevent another country from easily meeting its economic and
political objectives.
c. Maintenance or extension of spheres of influence: Governments frequently give aid and credits to,
and encourage imports from, countries that join a political alliance or vote a certain way within
international bodies. A country's trade restrictions may also coerce governments to follow certain
political actions or punish companies whose governments do not follow the actions.
d. Conservation of activities that help preserve a national identity: Countries are held together partially
through a common sense of identity that sets their citizens apart from other nationalities. To protect this
"separateness," countries limit foreign products and services in certain sectors, particularly the media.
Learning Outcome: Discuss arguments for and against government intervention in international
business
Skill: Critical Thinking
A tariff may be protective even though there is no domestic production in direct competition. Tariffs
also serve as a source of governmental revenue. Import tariffs are of little importance to large industrial
countries, but are a major source of revenue in many developing countries. Transit tariffs were once a
major source of revenue for countries, but they have been nearly abolished through governmental
treaties. A government may assess a tariff on a per-unit basis, in which case it is a specific duty. It may
assess a tariff as a percentage of the value of the item, in which case it is an ad valorem duty. If it
assesses both specific and an ad valorem duty on the same product, the combination is a compound duty.
A specific duty is easy for customs officials who collect duties to assess because they do not need to
determine a good's value on which to calculate a percentage tax. Because an ad valorem tariff is based
on the total value of the product, meaning the raw materials and the processing combined, developing
countries argue that the effective tariff on the manufactured portion turns out to be higher than the
published tariff rate.
105) In a short essay, list and discuss the nontariff barriers that relate to direct price influences:
subsidies, aid and loans, customs valuations, and other direct price influences.
Answer:
a. Subsidies: Countries sometimes make direct payments (called subsidies) to domestic companies to
reduce their costs or compensate them for losses incurred from selling abroad.
b. Aid and loans: Governments also give aid and loans to other countries. If the recipient is required to
spend the funds in the donor country, some products can compete abroad that might otherwise be
noncompetitive.
c. Customs valuation: Most countries have agreed on a procedure for assessing values when their
customs agents levy tariffs, but customs must ascertain whether the invoice correctly identifies the
product, its price, and its origin.
d. Other direct price influences: Countries frequently use other means to affect prices, including special
fees, requirements that customs deposits be placed in advance of shipment, and minimum price levels at
which goods can be sold after they have customs clearance.
106) List and define the types of nontariff barriers that limit the quantity of goods traded: quotas,
embargoes, buy local legislation, standards and labels, specific permission requirements, administrative
delays, and reciprocal requirements.
Answer:
a. Quotas: The most common type of import or export restriction based on quantity is the quota. From
the standpoint of imports, a quota most frequently limits the quantity of a product allowed to be
imported in a given year. The amount frequently reflects a guarantee that domestic producers will have
access to a certain percentage of the domestic market in that year.
b. Embargoes: An embargo is a specific type of quota that prohibits all trade on a whole category of
products or on all products from a given country. Governments use embargoes in an attempt to use
economic means to achieve political goals.
c. "Buy Local" legislation: Another form of quantitative trade control is "buy local" legislation. If
government purchases are a large part of total expenditures within a country, they comprise an important
part of the market. Most governments favor domestic producers in their purchases of goods. Sometimes
they specify a content restriction—in which a certain percentage of the product is of local origin.
d. Standards and labels: Countries commonly have set classification, labeling, and testing standards in
a manner that allows the sales of domestic products but inhibits that of foreign-made ones. The purpose
of testing standards is to protect the safety or health of the domestic population. However, there have
been situations where exporters have argued that such restrictions protect domestic producers instead.
e. Specific permission requirements: Some countries require that potential importers or exporters
secure permission from governmental authorities before conducting trade transactions, a requirement
known as an import license.
f. Administrative delays: Closely related to specific permission requirements are intentional
administrative delays, which create uncertainty and raise the cost of carrying inventory.
g. Reciprocal requirements: Governments sometimes require that exporters take merchandise in lieu of
money or that they promise to buy merchandise or services in the country to which they export. This
requirement is common in the aerospace and defense industries—sometimes because the importer is
short of foreign currency to purchase what it wants, and sometimes because the sales are so large the
buyer has strong negotiating power.
107) What are the main arguments for limiting trade in services? What is your opinion on limiting trade
in services?
Answer: Countries restrict trade in services for three reasons:
a. Essentiality: Countries judge certain service industries to be essential because they serve strategic
purposes or because they provide social assistance to their citizens. They sometimes prohibit private
companies, foreign or domestic, in some sectors because they feel the services should not be sold for
profit.
b. Standards: Governments limit foreign entry into many service professions to ensure practice by
qualified personnel. The licensing standards of these personnel vary by country. At present, there is little
reciprocal recognition in licensing from one country to another because occupational standards and
requirements differ substantially.
c. Immigration: Satisfying the standards of a particular country does not guarantee that a foreigner can
then work there. Governmental regulations often require that an organization—domestic or foreign—
search extensively for qualified personnel locally before it can even apply for work permits for
personnel it would like to bring in from abroad.