Nation-State Responsibilities and Roles in the International Trade Organizations - Coursework Example

International Trade Organization Introduction: It was not too long ago when the world collectively felt the need to create a platform or an organization which can specifically focus on the lay out of the international trade rules and regulations. This need proved to be an important indication for the people who had to go through many troubles in carrying out their mundane trade activities and that too was not up to the mark because of the absence of a proper linkage between countries all around the globe which eventually gave birth to these organizations that performed the required endeavor in a sustainable manner (Hobson, 2007). The history of International trade organization goes back in the year 1944 during the Bretton Woods Conference which mainly focused on the acknowledgement of the necessity of an international institution for trade matters that can eventually assist the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. However, this conference could not reach an affirmative conclusion or an agreement regarding the development of trade organizations (Hobson, 2007). Eventually, after a few years many countries came together to promote the need of a particular organization that can look after the trade ministries and trade relationships between the countries all around the globe resulting in the establishment of the ‘World trade organization’ which adopted the rules and regulations enlisted within the ‘General agreement on Tariffs and Trade’ (Davidson & Matusz, 2004). In order to understand the role of International organizations in the development of International trade and relationships it will be extremely important to understand meticulously the concept of a nation and a state as two distinct ideologies representing collectively a nation-state. In my opinion and from how this should be perceived is that a nation refers towards the representation of a distinct culture and social communities whereas on the contrary, the concept of state includes the geographical information and the representation of populations (Magee, 1980). Therefore, when we discuss both nation and state together the ideology clearly is pertaining towards the people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity and moral values. It is extremely important to understand the eminence of nation-states and how they began to proliferate during the nineteenth century and assisted immensely in developing these international trade and development organizations which have assisted in mollifying the trade relationships between the countries all around the world regardless of any political or cultural background (Magee, 1980). Nation-state responsibilities and roles in the International trade organizations: In order to understand in-depth regarding what responsibilities and roles the nation-state governments have in the organization of trade regulatory authorities and institutions we need to acknowledge the impact of globalization which has been introduced to the economic patterns all around the world. It is believed strongly that Globalization refers to a concept that deals with the expansion of global connectivity, the development of social norms on a global level along with the proliferation of global awareness and consciousness to form a global platform or a society (Waters, 2001). However, economic globalization as an individual concept refers to the entire process involved in the growth of the world economy by extensive means of trade and productive investments. The notion of globalization also brings with itself a fresh economy that welcomes importing of goods and services along with capital exchange between different countries which assists immensely in the eradication of trade restrictions which involves tariff and quota removal on foreign ownerships (Davidson & Matusz, 2004).. The removal of trade restrictions helps welcoming many opportunities to project and promote national trade along with the recognition of investment potential. An increase in trading opportunities can expand the chances of an increase in the employment rate with the driving force of economic growth and productivity. With many merits of globalization one should never look through the demerits if it that expands tremendously the possibilities of reduction in economic growth with a country’s imports exceeding the exports increasing the dependency of a country on its import trade (Sjursen, 2000). The implications and responsibilities of a government under globalization do not include many of those intricate tasks such as the improvement of economy with it import and export functions solely because they cannot stabilize the progress of the core factors of production. The economic globalization gives an individual freedom to move the resources out of those countries that do not have a favorable economic potential and environment to realms which have the maximum economic potential (Waters, 2001). The roles of a government after economic amalgamation become far less of eminent but with the exception of a nation-state government there are three basic functions which can only be performed under a nation-state government. The International trade organizations are primarily based on the multifaceted agreements between sovereign nation-states with either having a regional or a global role which eventually portrays a more stabilized structure because of a specific and inadequate number of regional state representations. These organizations started growing when innovative forms of productivity and new procedures of transportation and communication stopped giving the required results, which eventually convinced groups of people taking care of the trading activities on their own to develop a collective approach and that is how numerous International trade organizations emerged with a proper track of everything related to trade (Gallagher, 2005). The three basic functions that the nation-state governments have to look after is primarily the prevention of the members of a society from any sort of prejudice or injustice which can be present between the people belonging to a particular society as well (Gallagher, 2005). The protection of the people living within a society is viable after the maintenance and enforcement of a legal system which if seen through the economic perspective refers to the maximization of individual utility with the preservation private ownership of property and rational communication between the contracting entities. The next function that holds much of an importance for the nation-state to look after meticulously is the protection of the society itself from the interference of other nations that can lead to a social unrest in a country. With having an economic view this function includes the multinational corporations which have strengthened much more financially as compared to the governmental enterprises but that’s where the rule steps in which says that however strong a multinational or a private corporation may be that does not make it any more powerful than the governmental organizations because they cannot imply taxes on the citizens and they do not have the freedom to consume the tax revenue however way they want (Gallagher, 2005). Another very significant function that a nation-state has to perform with all its legal obligations is to erect and develop an infrastructure that promotes public goods as it’s first and foremost priority. The development of a proper infrastructure can perhaps include the improvement of education, development of a better and effective transport system for the ease of the society with the expansion of technology and particularly the communicational tools and resources (WTO, 1999). With such a promising infrastructure a nation can be successful in attracting foreign investments which eventually helps in the economic growth and prosperity. After discussing many functions that a nation-state is liable to perform with all the legal obligations we further discuss the responsibilities that they cannot at any cost look through. The first and the foremost responsibility on nation-state governments is that of the improvisation of education with the acknowledgement of its importance for an individual to support in the process of economic expansion. Poverty plays a significant role in the lack of education within a country because of the financial structure that colleges nowadays have making it a lot harder for the people to afford higher education (Whale, 1967). The governments should look into the matter before it’s too late and moreover because it is a matter of national prosperity; as an effective solution governments should introduce a universal secondary education with the same quality of education but with affordability and scholarship opportunities. Moving ahead a responsibility that a nation-state government has to fulfill is that of the ‘Labor force’ which can perhaps be acknowledged as the backbone of a country’s economy. The Labor force should be protected by the governments from the upper power that of the employers and from the labor market risks and threats along with the regulations to include more and more of socialized solutions to solve the dilemma of unemployment that lingers within an economy every now and then with the introduction of contributory individual saving system and unemployment provisions and benefits (Gallagher, 2005). The last but certainly not the least is a responsibility that maybe responsible for social and economic dilemmas faced by a country if not taken care of which is the confrontation of the benefits and intricate challenges of globalization. The nation-state governments have to make choices regarding the resistance or the acceptance of the outcome of globalization. For instance, Governments may enforce payment of domestic wages as a step towards the sustenance of a competitive labor market in order to assure domestic jobs along with the efforts to isolate the domestic economy by possible prevention (Gallagher, 2005). These procedures can undoubtedly assist a country to achieve higher effectiveness which plays a vital in promoting the economic and social image of a country when it goes global. However, it is highly difficult to achieve these targets because of the possibilities of severe consequences that may result because of the low wage rate and a less favorable standard of living. A nation-state government when allows the country to go on a global level with its potential promotion may lead a country towards a beneficial path in accordance with the potential merits of globalization over all (Qureshi, 1999). With the promotion a government should look into the development and advancement of technology up to the desired quality and quantity along with the expansion of knowledge that obviously points towards the educational facilities with the desirable quality and affordability. Industries can perhaps also gain a lot by the existence of economic globalization with the promotion of industrial technology advancement and innovative yet creative ideas that no other country can offer can welcome many foreign investment opportunities. Social interest of citizens within a country should never be looked through by the nation-state governments and they should give the required importance to the social systems by transferring the resources in order to generate an effective system of social welfare at the cost of employment (Lowenfeld, 2002). A significant part of the role that a nation-state government plays in the organization of International trade is to prioritize the global economy system which should work better with its acceptability at a wider and favorable scale. For instance, the provision of social investment and common goods to look after the basic necessities of life and the reduction of the demolition caused by an intermediate level of globalization with its many impacts on the economy and society. Nation-state governments have to fulfill the responsibility of the initiation of certain policies and a set of rules and regulations catering to the promotion of environmental preservation and to work towards providing a healthy environment to breathe in with the introduction of safety standards (Lowenfeld, 2002). A set of rules and regulations should be introduced within a country in order to govern the economic environment in an effort to control the excessive market expansion with the opposition of corruption and illegal activities. It is also very significant for the government to manage the consumption of advanced communicational technologies and introduction of many other physical infrastructures solely for the purpose of achieving higher investment value. With an apparent decrease in the decision dimensions of nation-state governments under the influence of globalization there seems to be a highlighted significance in their representative capacity. National economic interests should be protected at all times by the nation-state governments particularly at the International meetings of association and assemblages, for instance the World trade Organization (WTO) or the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The losses can be tracked by the means of economic sovereignty and the potential to carry on with the macro economic policies with the required future sustenance that should stabilize the new responsibilities on the shoulders of the nation-state governments created by the notion of globalization (Mitchell, 2005). The nature of the two Institutions: International Monetary Fund (IMF): The international monetary fund is an organization which was developed after the Second World War and since then it has achieved nothing but growth in progressing towards the ultimate goal (Trebilcock & Howse, 2005). The ultimate goal of this organization is to achieve global growth and economic stability with the required set of rules and regulations. Over the years this organization has helped and promoted human welfare with the establishment of numerous policy advices given to countries who are struggling economically along with the provision of finances that they desperately seek for (Mitchell, 2005). According to Wilkinson (2001), International monetary fund also works with growing countries to assist them in achieving economic stabilization and how to make better choices in the economic sphere. International monetary fund has worked time and time again to promote international monetary co-operation along with stabilized international relations and exchange rate moderation; it also works towards the stability of international trade with the much-needed resources that can identify members who can help the other members in their balance of payments or they can also assist with the poverty reduction efforts (Mitchell, 2005). The international monetary fund has a total of 185 members and it is specialized organization developed by the United Nations but we should be aware that it has its own charter, a governing system and finances. International Monetary Fund has set a few objectives along with a few key activities which involve policy suggestions to various governments and significant banks on their economic trends and policies along with mortgages given to countries that face economic complexities and in order to prevent in some way or the other the poverty conditions faced by underdeveloped countries. International Monetary fund has been known to create a forum almost each year to discuss international monetary dilemmas while providing assistance in the form of suggestions to stabilize international economies (Gallagher, 2005). This organization has worked time and time again to maintain the international trade along with the expansion of employment opportunities that could help in economic growth and poverty decline. Projection of better and a moderate exchange rate has never been looked through by the International Monetary Fund that has helped immensely in solving the international payment dilemma with the deliverance of foreign exchange whenever needed by countries that are faced by economic troubles but under severe payback conditions to which the recipient country has to agree (Mitchell, 2005). World trade Organization (WTO): It is an international organization that works for the supervision and stabilization of international trade and holds a set of multifaceted rules and regulations which are acknowledged as the core necessities to carry out International trade by any country all around the globe. It was established in January 1, 1995 and includes all the rules and regulations which were a part of the General agreement on tariffs and trade which came into being in 1947 and it was followed for about five decades as the de facto international institution (Mitchell, 2005). This organization deals with the set of rules and regulations based on trading that takes place between countries at an almost global scale. World trade organization introduced numerous innovative trade agreements and it acts as an in charge of all the WTO members who signed all the WTO agreements and policies. WTO has almost 153 members which represent more than 95% of the entire world trade that is taking place with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It is believed that the main objective of the World trade organizations is to create a set of rules and regulations that can provide the trading world a purpose and an international support system that helps each other in trading businesses (Gallagher, 2005). Conclusion: International trade has provided countries all over the world with numerous opportunities to grow as an economy which is inter-related with the social well-being and individual growth. The organizations established to promote the global trade have given the trading rules and regulations a legal silhouette which was very significant to carry out trade between distinct countries in an effective and responsible manner. These organizations have shaped the trading sphere more than ever because of the rules and regulations introduced within international trade that enables each country to analyze their trade opportunities along with a safe and reasonable way of carrying out trade on an international basis. 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