Debate, especially on the subject of slavery, has long been at the frontier of modern-day efforts to rethink and reshape the nuances of international trade. Slavery has long been a tool of oppression as well as an instrument of economic liberation. From the foregoing analysis in the Bangkok Post, the labour considerations apparent in the texts suggest aspects of calculated exploitation, and submission concerning enduring political ties between the United States and Thailand (Ionescu 2011, p. 456).
The failure by the US to suspend trade links with the Thai government candidly captures the subjectivity of Americas thinking and positioning in regional politics. In a way, the labour prejudices and practices of slavery often play out within and across territorial borders in new escapes for cheap labour. This phenomenon emanates from the desire to use cheap labour for mass production of commodities without necessarily caring for the well-being of the workers and their families.
Thai’s Regional positioning
As a political and economic giant in the region, US perceive Thailand as a regional apex to extend cooperation on economic and political issues to other areas to sustain its geopolitical balance and to limit the excesses of external actors (US ignores own law to allow imports of Thai fish caught by slaves 2015). In fact, greater Thailand and US-European cooperation seems inevitable in the concept of fighting the pertinent regional danger posed by terrorism.
America is keen on the relative Russian influence in the Balkans, and is currently taking no chances even with the historical tensions between them. America believes that Thailand’s economic strength and strategic position will naturally foster stronger regional ties between the two nations and eventually deal American perceived enemies a big blow. America seeks to win over countries that have large Muslim populations, including Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Albania in its regional positioning to defeat the present Islamic States danger hence the need to extend friendly trade ties with such responsive nations.
Through business relations, historical tensions will slow down and eventually enhance America’s centrality in regional politics. Although the bilateral relationship between Thailand and the West may have been strained in the past, the two regions agreed on a robust foreign policy mechanism to strengthen economic ties while building stronger regional relations to stem the violations of human rights and freedom (Ionescu 2011, p. 457).
Economic relations between Thailand and the US
Thailand and American economic relations have strengthened immensely over the past years, particularly since the customs agreement between the two nations was signed in 1996. Presently, approximately half of exports from Thailand including fish go to America and Europe (US ignores own law to allow imports of Thai fish caught by slaves 2015). The largest export market of Thailand is Germany with five out of its top 10 export markets being European countries.
These ties mean that the economic progress in America and Europe definitely reflect a sharp growth in Thailand. According to Janssens (2010, p. 35), 70% direct foreign investment into Thailand is from America and Europe. All the same, in spite of the negative temporary stance, the economy of Thailand has been solidifying expectations, particularly with the continuing growing population.
Strengthening political relations between Thailand and the US
Thailand and America are also more likely to coordinate foreign policy closely, particularly in the Islamic world to stem the terror network (Morelli 2013, p. 13). While Thailand immigrants were extensively welcomed in Europe, particularly in Germany, where Thais offered the much-needed labour force, they now comprise the largest group of foreigners in the western bloc. Close to 5.5 million Thai nationals reside in the European Union (Morelli 2013, p. 13). Thai immigrants may find their way in America to strengthen its workforce and to bolster its social security system (Janssens 2010, p. 34).
International labour standards and business ethics
Outlining standards for ethical and socially responsive business environment often starts with the code of ethics for any serious and self-respecting business organisation. According to D’Amato, Henderson, and Sue (2009, p. 24), businesses normally come up with set code of ethics to guide their activities within the business community they operate. Code of ethics often implies a set of rules for acceptable behaviour. However, it is expected that each business organisation outline these codes within its priority list. Code of ethics thrives in two broad categories in any business establishment: compliance-based and integrity based code of ethics.
Compliance-based code of ethics, according to Jackson (2008, p. 445), centres on preventing lawless behaviour by instituting relevant punishment for those who encroach upon the code. On the other hand, integrity-based code of ethics can be instituted to encourage ethical behaviour within the business environment, and this normally is achieved by defining the business’ mission and values to all the stakeholders. Overall, creating an environment that augments ethical behaviour and which gives a lifeline to shared accountability will always engage the business community in socially and ethically responsive activities (D’Amato et al. 2009, p. 25).
The world over, organisations are expected to be responsible by primarily outlining their Code of Ethics in order to improve their performance, service delivery and to subsidise the economic progression of the communities under which they operate. This endeavour, as Kaidonis and Stoianoff (2006, p. 17) note, is always achieved by learning how to cope with reasonable stakeholder expectations like company employees, customers, as well as the environment in which businesses co-exist.
In addition, an enterprise does not capture the market simply by virtue of angling to do business, ethical and social responsive thinking skills and policy issues matters most. Companies must always seek to be responsible in order to meet the set values, norms, and standards that the larger community cherishes. By making the code of ethics key policy priority in a business enterprise, organisations can always capture a wider market niche while appealing to an endless reservoir of customers at all times.
Theories of Global commerce
Theories of Global commerce outline the Code of Ethics as guiding principles for businesses to apply in their endeavors. Businesses are expected to abide by the provisions, procedures, and policies that depict high corporate standards that international trade demands. These principles guarantee fundamental steps that nations must pursue to ensure they do trade within the expected norms. The ideals of these establishments are meant to deter all forms form of wrongdoing or forced labor while making business activities logical and legal.
Global businesses must seek to align themselves with international labor laws and comply with relevant government laws, regulations, and rules that guarantee efficient and effective corporate ethics. International trade theories are instrumental in helping the authorities regulating trade to explain, predict, and intercept unethical trade practices between nations.
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is an economic trade policy that helps to gauge a government’s role in a particular trade. Using this theory, international trade authorities will gauge whether such trades are for domestic or regional control, investment or international control (University of Washington 2009). Using this theory, international trade regulators ensure that the surplus of trade are given or paid to the local community where the resources and labour are found.
Absolute advantage
Absolute advantage theory is a brainchild of Adam Smith who argued that the wealth of nations consist of the services and the natural resources that are found within a those nations. As such making these raw materials and services available depends on the capacity to prospect them with all the natural advantages such as cheap labour provided by the locals (University of Washington 2009). It is therefore necessary for the prospecting international firms to provide adequate payments for the services rendered by the locals to obtain the raw materials.
Comparative advantage
David Ricardo developed Comparative advantage theory to advance the ideologies of political economy and taxation (University of Washington 2009). Comparative advantage holds that the gains from trade are consistent between any two trading countries. As such, the relative opportunity costs determine the nature of production and no one particular country should take absolute advantage over the other.
These principles outline responsibility for violating these principles thus guaranteeing accountability by nations engaged in foreign trade. Outlining standards for ethical and socially responsive business environment often starts with the code of ethics for reputable multinational businesses. Businesses normally come up with set code of ethics to guide their activities within the business community they operate. Code of ethics often implies a set of rules for acceptable behavior within their priority lists. International labor standards continue to seek a comprehensive approach to regulate businesses within a unified social policy framework. The United Nation’s continue to provide supervisory system that seeks to address various problems in the application of global business principles at regional level.
Conclusion
In the Bangkok Post, the author traces the root of this discourse to America’s centrality in global politics. Much of these considerations embroil the re-tracing of the history of slavery as a way of informing the social, political, and economic structures, which are the bedrock of this scenario. In the past, slavery grew as a form of seeking cheap labour for the growing economies. However, due to its forced nature of labour, humanitarian voices stepped in to check the on the deprivation of humanity in the ensuing socio-economic and political inequalities. In nearer times, anti-consumerist activism particularly made it easy to identify and reject corporations who engage slaves on forced labour to make products.
Trade policies in various parts of the world seek to guarantee economic chastisement as a way of ensuring economic freedom. This strategy aims to protect the domestic market foreign competitors to encourage domestic industrial production. Most countries accept the import-substitution industrialisation as a viable policy package that could help their economies achieve industrial transformation. However, in the wake of economic meltdown, various factors combined to create a large-scale economic crisis in many regions tempting them to resort to forced labour.
References
D’Amato, A., Henderson, S., and Sue, F. 2009, Corporate social responsibility and sustainable business: A guide to leadership tasks and functions: Center for Creative Leadership, CCL Press, North Carolina.
Ionescu, L. 2011, ‘The influence of corruption on economic growth’, Economics, Management, and Financial Markets, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 453-458.
Jackson, K. 2008, ‘Natural law, human rights, and corporate reputational capital in global governance’, Corporate Governance, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 440-455.
Janssens, M. 2010, The sustainability of cultural diversity: Nations, cities and organisations, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
Kaidonis, M. A., and Stoianoff, N. P. 2006, ‘Legislation, citizens’ rights, and the self-determination of a developing country’, UNEP Conference Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 1-22.
Morelli, V. 2013, ‘European Union Enlargement: A status report on Turkey’s accession negotiations’, Congressional Research Service, vol. 22, no. 517, pp. 1-16.
University of Washington 2009. Web.
US ignores own law to allow imports of Thai fish caught by slaves. 2015. Bangkok Post [Bangkok]. Web.