Unpredictable Tides is the article from The Economist, the weekly publication, where news and internationals affairs are concerned. This article was published July 23, 2009 for the first time. The main idea of this article is all about world trade and the challenges, current economics faces because of the crisis.
Global economic still cannot overcome the Depression, this is why the dollar value of trade continues decreasing and the World Bank bothers how to improve the situation and help the others countries to overcome the crisis and stabilize international trade. In general, the information, presented in this article, prove the ideas that economics and international trade in particular are under a certain threat that has to be analyzed as soon as possible in order not to be upset with unfavorable results.
The article under consideration does not actually presents rather new concepts, which will play a considerable role in further development of economics and world trade, however, several issues, offered by bank representatives still have to be mentioned and analyzed. First of all, Bernard Hoekman, as the significant figure in the international trade department of the bank, admits that “hints of an uptick” (Unpredictable Tides, 2009) allow to predict that trade is far from considerable booming.
In this article, also one more adjective is offered to drop in trade – now, it is the “precipitate drop in trade” (Unpredictable Tides, 2009) that is caused by the situation with global GDP. Rapid contraction of trade is another reason for fast slowdown in economic growth; this is why many firms have to draw down all their accumulated inventories very sharply. These are the main issues, which have a certain impact on further development of international and global trade.
The authors of this article use many facts to support the main idea of this article that is about trade and the challenges it faces. However, I want to underline three the most significant for economic points. First, it is the two reasons of why modern trade undergoes so many changes and challenges. One of the reasons is closely connected to the turn of the year.
Many economists still believe that if demand picks up in a short period of time, it will be possible to recover international trade. The second reason lies in the idea of global trade politics. The pressure that takes place among the trade barriers is still cramping, this is why unemployment bothers so many people, who deal with international trade. Another important fact that has to be considered right now is the analyses of the trade state nowadays.
The information, provided by the World Bank, proves that dollar’s value is lower in comparison to the other years. This is why the condition of trade till this period of time cannot be called stable and has to be investigated in order to find out the ideas to improve the situation.
The last point that makes this article really interesting and informative is the forecasts concerning international trade considering all those changes, which take place now: some countries like China or Australia should change their directions to liberal ones, and these changes may lead to reducing these countries’ import duties.
To my mind, one of the strengths of this article is referencing to the information, offered by the World Bank. This source of information is always considered as one of the most reliable ones, this is why the authors make the right decision to ground this article on the facts from the World Bank International Trade Department.
This article is also regarded as powerful, because the impact of crisis on international trade is also taken into consideration. Two quite clear illustrative tables also provide the reader with a chance to evaluate and compare the conditions of export and import, and get a clear understanding that current results are not that successful as should be or were not long time ago.
The weak side of the article under consideration is lack of attention to the countries themselves, which suffer from economic business and have the problems with international trade. Of course, it is impossible to list all the countries with its problems within one article, but still, the examples could make it more powerful and interesting for people of different nations.
As a future business owner, I find this article reliable and rather helpful. The example of the World Bank and their intentions to increase the value of dollar and improve international trade give me a kind of hope that even too complicated situations on the global level may be solved, and deep analysis is one of the best decisions in this case. Nowadays, lots of firms, organizations, and other participants of international trade suffer from the outcomes of economic crisis.
One powerful means, used in this article, is division of the organization into those who are the members of WTO (World Trade Organization) and who are not in this organization. Taking into account this point, I get a chance to evaluate the chances, which are offered by WTO, and comprehend that joining this organization may be rather beneficial, this is why I, as future entrepreneur should learn more about the conditions, under which it is possible to enter WTO.
The significant idea that I remember from this article is that “changes in trade policy have not all gone one way” (Unpredictable Tides, 2009). I think that any smart entrepreneur should realize the significance of changes and its unpredictable outcomes, especially in national and international trade.
Reference List
Unpredictable Tides. (2009). The Economist. Web.