1.
Seattle
–
Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of the United States and the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In July 2013, it was the major city in the United States. The city is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 100 miles south of the Canada–United States border, a major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2015. The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, the settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay and named Seattle in 1852, after Chief Siahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late-19th century, growth after World War II was partially due to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s, in 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District, to the Central District, the jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock subgenre grunge, archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived, the people occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay, the first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest. In 1851, a party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party, members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28,1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon, after a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square, naming this new settlement Duwamps. For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, david Swinson Doc Maynard, one of the founders of Duwamps, was the primary advocate to name the settlement after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The name Seattle appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23,1853, in 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14,1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of managing the city
Seattle
–
Downtown Seattle from
Queen Anne Hill
Seattle
–
Seal
Seattle
–
The
Battle of Seattle (1856)
Seattle
–
Seattle's first
streetcar, at the corner of Occidental and Yesler, 1884. All of the buildings visible in this picture were destroyed by fire five years later.
2.
World Trade Organization
–
The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round. The WTO is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha Development Round, as of June 2012, the future of the Doha Round remained uncertain, the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round is still incomplete. This impasse has made it impossible to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round, as a result, there have been an increasing number of bilateral free trade agreements between governments. As of July 2012, there were various groups in the WTO system for the current agricultural trade negotiation which is in the condition of stalemate. The WTOs current Director-General is Roberto Azevêdo, who leads a staff of over 600 people in Geneva, a trade facilitation agreement, part of the Bali Package of decisions, was agreed by all members on 7 December 2013, the first comprehensive agreement in the organizations history. Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under GATT, the first real GATT trade rounds concentrated on further reducing tariffs. Then, the Kennedy Round in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT anti-dumping Agreement, because these plurilateral agreements were not accepted by the full GATT membership, they were often informally called codes. Several of these codes were amended in the Uruguay Round, only four remained plurilateral, but in 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy agreements, leaving only two. Well before GATTs 40th anniversary, its members concluded that the GATT system was straining to adapt to a new globalizing world economy. In response to the problems identified in the 1982 Ministerial Declaration, the GATT still exists as the WTOs umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. GATT1994 is not however the only legally binding agreement included via the Final Act at Marrakesh, the highest decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years. It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions, the Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. When agricultural export subsidies were agreed to be phased out and adoption of the European Unions Everything, the WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the Doha Development Round, at the fourth ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. This was to be an effort to make globalization more inclusive and help the worlds poor, particularly by slashing barriers. The initial agenda comprised both further trade liberalization and new rule-making, underpinned by commitments to strengthen substantial assistance to developing countries. Among the various functions of the WTO, these are regarded by analysts as the most important and it provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes. Another priority of the WTO is the assistance of developing, least-developed and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical cooperation and training
World Trade Organization
–
The economists
Harry White (left) and
John Maynard Keynes at the
Bretton Woods Conference. Both had been strong advocates of a central-controlled international trade environment and recommended the establishment of three institutions: the
IMF (for fiscal and monetary issues); the
World Bank (for financial and structural issues); and the
ITO (for international economic cooperation).
World Trade Organization
–
Members
World Trade Organization
–
During the
Doha Round, the
US government blamed
Brazil and
India for being inflexible and the EU for impeding agricultural imports. The then-
President of Brazil,
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (above right), responded to the criticisms by arguing that progress would only be achieved if the richest countries (especially the US and countries in the EU) made deeper cuts in
agricultural subsidies and further opened their markets for agricultural goods.
World Trade Organization
–
The
World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1998, in the
Palace of Nations (
Geneva,
Switzerland).
3.
Washington State Convention and Trade Center
–
The Washington State Convention Center is a convention center in Seattle, Washington. The convention center notably is built bridging over Interstate 5, the convention center is planning a $1. It is the most expensive and largest project underway amidst Seattle’s historic construction boom, AAI Immunology Annual Meeting 2016 Emerald City ComiCon 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014. Penny Arcade Expo 2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016. Sakura-Con 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016, WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 NECA Show 2009 Phi Theta Kappa Convention 2011 International Conference on Robotics and Automation in 2015 Official website
Washington State Convention and Trade Center
–
The South Lobby in use for
Sakura-Con.
Washington State Convention and Trade Center
–
The convention center is built over the
Interstate 5 highway.
4.
Washington (U.S. state)
–
It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, Washington was named after President George Washington by an act of the United States Congress during the creation of Washington Territory in 1853. Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president, confusion over the state of Washington and the city of Washington, D. C. led to renaming proposals during the statehood process for Washington in 1889, which failed to garner support. Washington, D. C. s own statehood movement in the 21st century includes a proposal to use the name State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, which would conflict with the current state of Washington. To distinguish it from the capital, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington state, or, in more formal contexts. Residents of Washington and the Pacific Northwest simply refer to the state as Washington, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
Washington (U.S. state)
–
South Eastern Washington
Washington (U.S. state)
–
Flag
Washington (U.S. state)
–
The Pacific Coast of
Westport, Washington
Washington (U.S. state)
–
Cascade Pass in the
North Cascades National Park
5.
Doha
–
Doha is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Qatar. Doha has a population of 1,351,000 in a city proper with the close to 1.5 million. The city is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in the east of the country and it is Qatars fastest growing city, with over 50% of the nations population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and it is also the economic center of the country. Doha was founded in the 1820s as an offshoot of Al Bidda and it was officially declared as the countrys capital in 1971, when Qatar gained independence. As the commercial capital of Qatar and one of the emergent financial centers in the Middle East, Doha is considered a city by the Globalization. Doha accommodates Education City, a devoted to research and education. The city was host to the first ministerial-level meeting of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations. It was also selected as host city of a number of sporting events, including the 2006 Asian Games, in December 2011, the World Petroleum Council held the 20th World Petroleum Conference in Doha. Additionally, the city hosted the 2012 UNFCCC Climate Negotiations and is set to host a number of the venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In May 2015, Doha was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, La Paz, Durban, Havana, Beirut, the name Doha may have originated from the Arabic Ad-Dawḥa, the big tree. The reference might be to a prominent tree that stood at the site where the fishing village arose. Alternatively, it may have derived from dohat — Arabic for bay or gulf — referring to the Doha Bay area surrounding the Corniche. The city of Doha was formed after seceding from another local settlement known as Al Bidda, the earliest documented mention of Al Bidda was made in 1681, by the Carmelite Convent, in an account which chronicles several settlements in Qatar. In the record, the ruler and a fort in the confines of Al Bidda are alluded to, carsten Niebuhr, a European explorer who visited the Arabian Peninsula, created one of the first maps to depict the settlement in 1765 in which he labelled it as Guttur. David Seaton, a British political resident in Muscat, wrote the first English record of Al Bidda in 1801 and he refers to the town as Bedih and describes the geography and defensive structures in the area. He stated that the town had recently settled by the Sudan tribe. Seaton attempted to bombard the town with his warship, but returned to Muscat upon finding that the waters were too shallow to position his warship within striking distance. In 1820, British surveyor R. H. Colebrook, who visited Al Bidda and he wrote, The same year, an agreement known as the General Maritime Treaty was signed between the East India Company and the sheikhs of several Persian Gulf settlements
Doha
–
Clockwise from top:
Qatar University,
Museum of Islamic Art,
Doha Skyline,
Souq Waqif,
The Pearl
Doha
–
Satellite view of Doha
Doha
–
Trigonometrical plan of Al Bidda, 1823.
Doha
–
Doha in January 1904
6.
Non-Aligned Movement
–
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members, all five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the developing world between the Western and Eastern Blocs during the Cold War. The phrase itself was first used to represent the doctrine by Indian diplomat V. K. Krishna Menon in 1953, the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations members and contain 55% of the world population. Membership is particularly concentrated in countries considered to be developing or part of the Third World, members have at times included the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Argentina, Zaire, Cyprus, and Malta. Although many of the Non-Aligned Movements members were quite closely aligned with one or another of the superpowers. Some members were involved in conflicts with other members. The movement fractured from its own internal contradictions when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, although the Soviet allies supported the invasion, other members of the movement condemned it. Because the Non-Aligned Movement was formed as an attempt to thwart the Cold War, the successor states of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have expressed little interest in membership, though Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have observer status. In 2004, Malta and Cyprus ceased to be members and joined the European Union, belarus is the only member of the Movement in Europe. Azerbaijan and Fiji are the most recent entrants, joining in 2011, the applications of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Costa Rica were rejected in 1995 and 1998, respectively. The 16th NAM summit took place in Tehran, Iran, from 26 to 31 August 2012, according to Mehr News Agency, representatives from over 150 countries were scheduled to attend. Attendance at the highest level includes 27 presidents,2 kings, at the summit, Iran took over from Egypt as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement for the period 2012 to 2015. The founding fathers of the Non-Aligned Movement were, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Sukarno of Indonesia, Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt and their actions were known as The Initiative of Five. The term non-alignment was established in 1953 at the United Nations, Nehru used the phrase in a 1954 speech in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In this speech, Nehru described the five pillars to be used as a guide for Sino-Indian relations called Panchsheel, the five principles were, Mutual respect for each others territorial integrity and sovereignty. The term non-aligned movement appears first in the conference in 1976. At the Lusaka Conference in September 1970, the member nations added as aims of the movement the peaceful resolution of disputes, another added aim was opposition to stationing of military bases in foreign countries. The movement stems from a not to be aligned within a geopolitical/military structure and therefore itself does not have a very strict organizational structure
Non-Aligned Movement
–
Logo of the Sharm El Sheikh Summit, 2009.
Non-Aligned Movement
–
Member countries
7.
Shanghai Co-operation Organisation
–
These countries, except for Uzbekistan had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996, after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organisation. On July 10,2015, the SCO decided to admit India, India and Pakistan signed the memorandum of obligations on 24 June 2016 at Tashkent, thereby starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full members. The acceptance process will take months, by which they are expected to become full members by the next meeting at Astana in 2017. The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are Chinese, according to political scientist Thomas Ambrosio, one aim was to ensure that liberal democracy could not gain ground in these countries. On 24 April 1997, the countries signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions in a meeting in Moscow. Subsequent annual summits of the Shanghai Five group occurred in Almaty in 1998, in Bishkek in 1999, in 2001, the annual summit returned to Shanghai. There the five member nations first admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism, on 16 July 2001, Russia and the PRC, the organisations two leading nations, signed the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation. In June 2002, the heads of the SCO member states met in Saint Petersburg, there they signed the SCO Charter which expounded on the organisations purposes, principles, structures and form of operation, and established it in international law. Its six full members account for 60% of the mass of Eurasia. With observer states included, its affiliates account for half of the worlds population. The Council of Heads of State is the top decision-making body in the SCO and this council meets at the SCO summits, which are held each year in one of the member states capital cities. This council also holds annual summits, at which members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation. The council also approves the organisations budget, the Council of National Coordinators coordinates the multilateral cooperation of member states within the framework of the SCOs charter. The Secretariat of the SCO is the executive body of the organisation. The Head of RATS is elected to a three-year term, each member state also sends a permanent representative to RATS. The SCO is primarily centered on its member nations Central Asian security-related concerns, however evidence is growing that its activities in the area of social development of its member states is increasing fast. At 16–17 June 2004 SCO summit, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 21 April 2006, the SCO announced plans to fight cross-border drug crimes under the counter-terrorism rubric. Grigory Logninov claimed in April 2006 that the SCO has no plans to become a military bloc, nonetheless he argued that the increased threats of terrorism, extremism and separatism make necessary a full-scale involvement of armed forces
Shanghai Co-operation Organisation
–
Russian President
Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev, Chinese President
Jiang Zemin, Kyrgyz President
Askar Akayev, and Tajik President
Emomali Rakhmonov, at one time the leaders of the Shanghai Five.
Shanghai Co-operation Organisation
–
Logo
Shanghai Co-operation Organisation
–
SCO leaders at Peace Mission 2007.
Hu Jintao,
Vladimir Putin,
Nursultan Nazarbayev and
Islam Karimov
Shanghai Co-operation Organisation
–
Leaders present at the SCO summit in
Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009.
8.
Doha Development Round
–
The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda is the latest trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization which commenced in November 2001 under then director-general Mike Moore. Its objective was to trade barriers around the world. The Doha Round began with a meeting in Doha, Qatar in 2001. Subsequent ministerial meetings took place in Cancún, Mexico, and Hong Kong, there is also considerable contention against and between the EU and the US over their maintenance of agricultural subsidies—seen to operate effectively as trade barriers. Since the breakdown of negotiations in 2008, there have been repeated attempts to revive the talks, intense negotiations, mostly between the US, China, and India, were held at the end of 2008 seeking agreement on negotiation modalities, an impasse which was not resolved. In April 2011, then director-general Pascal Lamy asked members to think hard about the consequences of throwing away ten years of solid multilateral work. Adoption of the Bali Ministerial Declaration on 7 December 2013 for the first time successfully addressed bureaucratic barriers to commerce—a small part of the Doha Round agenda, however, as of January 2014, the future of the Doha Round remains uncertain. Doha Round talks are overseen by the Trade Negotiations Committee, whose chair is the WTO’s director-general, the negotiations are being held in five working groups and in other existing bodies of the WTO. Selected topics under negotiation are discussed below in five groups, market access, development issues, WTO rules, trade facilitation, before the Doha ministerial, negotiations had already been under way on trade in agriculture and trade in services. These ongoing negotiations had been required under the last round of trade negotiations. However, some countries, including the United States, wanted to expand the agriculture and services talks to allow trade-offs and these became known as the Singapore issues. These issues were pushed at successive ministerials by the European Union, Japan and Korea, since no agreement was reached, the developed nations pushed that any new trade negotiations must include the mentioned issues. Due to the failure of the Millennium Round, it was decided that negotiations would not start again until the next conference in 2001 in Doha. Just months before the Doha ministerial, the United States had been attacked by terrorists on 11 September 2001, some government officials called for greater political cohesion and saw the trade negotiations as a means toward that end. Some officials thought that a new round of trade negotiations could help a world economy weakened by recession. According to the WTO, the year 2001 showed. the lowest growth in output in more than two decades, and world trade contracted that year, the intent of the round, according to its proponents, was to make trade rules fairer for developing countries. However, by 2008, critics were charging that the round would expand a system of rules that were bad for development. The 2001 ministerial declaration established a deadline for concluding negotiations for the Doha round at January 1,2005
Doha Development Round
–
The Hong Kong Convention Center, which was the site of the
Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference
Doha Development Round
–
The Doha Development Round started in 2001 and continues today.
9.
Agricultural subsidies
–
Examples of such commodities include, wheat, feed grains, cotton, milk, rice, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, oilseeds such as soybeans, and meat products such as beef, pork, and lamb and mutton. In 2010, the EU spent €57 billion on agricultural development, Agricultural and fisheries subsidies form over 40% of the EU budget. Since 1992, the EUs Common Agricultural Policy has undergone significant change as subsidies have mostly been decoupled from production, the largest subsidy is the Single Farm Payment. The subsidy was implemented by means of a system which could be redeemed by the recipients for fertilizer types at approximately one-third of the normal cash price. Many practical and political challenges remain in the design and implementation required to increase efficiency, control costs. New Zealand is reputed to have the most open agricultural markets in the world after radical reforms started in 1984 by the Fourth Labour Government stopped all subsidies. In 1984 New Zealands Labor government took the step of ending all farm subsidies. This was a truly striking policy action, because New Zealands economy is roughly five times more dependent on farming than is the U. S. economy, measured by either output or employment. Subsidies in New Zealand accounted for more than 30 percent of the value of production before reform, and New Zealand farming was marred by the same problems caused by U. S. subsidies, including overproduction, environmental degradation and inflated land prices. The United States currently pays around $20 billion per year to farmers in direct subsidies as farm income stabilization via farm bills, the beneficiaries of the subsidies have changed as agriculture in the United States has changed. In the 1930s, about 25% of the population resided on the nations 6,000,000 small farms. By 1997,157,000 large farms accounted for 72% of farm sales, in 2006, the top 3 states receiving subsidies were Texas, Iowa, and Illinois. United States Department of Agriculture subsidies from farms in Iowa totaled $1,212,000,000 in 2006, from 2003 to 2005, the top 1% of beneficiaries received 17% of subsidy payments. In Texas, 72% of farms do not receive government subsidies, of the close to USD$1.4 billion in subsidy payments to farms in Texas, roughly 18% of the farms receive a portion of the payments. The Environmental Working Group states, The 1996 Freedom to Farm Act envisioned a move away from subsidized farming, as a transition, the 1996 farm bill established a direct payment program to wean farmers off the government dole. Payments are based on a formula involving the production on a given plot of land in 1986. This set payment went to the current landowner or farm operator every year, the program has been maintained beyond its intended lifetime and became a federal entitlement program for farmers that cost the government about $5 billion per year. Top states for direct payments were Iowa, Illinois, and Texas, direct payments of subsidies are limited to $40,000 per person or $80,000 per couple
Agricultural subsidies
–
OECD countries support their livestock and dairy industries with subsidies worth billions of dollars.
10.
Anti-globalization
–
The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalisation movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. Participants base their criticisms on a number of related ideas, what is shared is that participants oppose large, multinational corporations having unregulated political power, exercised through trade agreements and deregulated financial markets. As of January 2012, some commentators have characterized changes in the economy as turbo-capitalism, market fundamentalism, casino capitalism. In reaction, various social movements emerged to challenge their influence, use a wide variety of human resources. Neoliberal doctrine argued that free trade and reduction of public-sector regulation would bring benefits to poor countries. That is why the press, in its more honest moments. No sane person is opposed to globalization, that is, international integration, by 2002, many parts of the movement showed wide opposition to the impending invasion of Iraq. Many participants were among those 11 million or more protesters that on the weekend of February 15,2003, Chomsky asserted that these leaders showed their contempt for democracy. The economic and military issues are linked in the eyes of many within the movement. Many participants consider the term anti-globalization to be a misnomer, S. A. Hamed Hosseini, argues that the term anti-globalization can be ideal-typically used only to refer to only one ideological vision he detects alongside three other visions. He argues that the three latter ideal-typical visions can be categorized under the title of global justice movement, some activists, notably David Graeber, see the movement as opposed instead to neoliberalism or corporate globalization. He also notes that use the terms globalization movement and anti-globalization movement interchangeably. The term alter-globalization has been used to make this distinction clear, le Monde Diplomatique s editor, Ignacio Ramonets, expression of the one-way thought became slang against neoliberal policies and the Washington consensus. The term anti-globalization does not distinguish the international leftist anti-globalization position from a strictly nationalist anti-globalization position, other groups, influenced by the Third Position, are also classifiable as anti-globalization. However, their world view is rejected by groups such as Peoples Global Action. In response, the nationalist movements against globalization, argue that the leftist anti-globalization position is actually a support to alter-globalization, several influential critical works have inspired the anti-globalization movement. The writer Arundhati Roy is famous for her position and her activism against Indias massive hydroelectric dam project. The works of Jean Ziegler, Christopher Chase-Dunn, and Immanuel Wallerstein have detailed underdevelopment, pacifist and anti-imperialist traditions have strongly influenced the movement
Anti-globalization
–
Thousands of people gathered for a demonstration in
Warsaw, the capital of
Poland, as the country prepared to enter the
European Union in 2004.
Anti-globalization
–
Protest against the
G8-meeting in
Heiligendamm, 2007.
Anti-globalization
–
World Bank /
IMF protesters smashed the windows of this
PNC Bank branch located in the
Logan Circle neighborhood of
Washington, D.C.
Anti-globalization
–
Arundhati Roy
11.
Imperialism
–
Imperialism is an action that involves a country extending its power by the acquisition of territories. It may also include the exploitation of these territories, an action that is linked to colonialism, colonialism is generally regarded as an expression of imperialism. However, both are examples of imperialism, the word imperialism originated from the Latin word imperium, which means supreme power. It first became common in Great Britain, during the 1870s and was used with a negative connotation, the term was and is mainly applied to Western political and economic dominance, especially in Asia and Africa, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its precise meaning continues to be debated by scholars, some writers, such as Edward Said, use the term more broadly to describe any system of domination and subordination organised with an imperial center and a periphery. This definition encompasses both nominal empires and neocolonialism, the word empire comes from the Latin word imperium, for which the closest modern English equivalent would perhaps be sovereignty, or simply rule. The greatest distinction of an empire is through the amount of land that a nation has conquered and expanded, Political power grew from conquering land, however cultural and economic aspects flourished through sea and trade routes. A distinction about empires is that although political empires were built mostly by expansion overland, economic, some of the main aspects of trade that went overseas consisted of animals and plant products. European empires in Asia and Africa have come to be seen as the forms of imperialism. European expansion caused the world to be divided by how developed, the two main regions are the core and the periphery. The core consists of areas of income and profit, the periphery is on the opposing side of the spectrum consisting of areas of low income. These critical theories of Geo-politics have led to increased discussion of the meaning and this idea from Lenin stresses how important new political world order has become in our modern era. Geopolitics now focuses on states becoming major players in the market, some states today are viewed as empires due to their political. The term imperialism is often conflated with colonialism, however scholars have argued that each have their own distinct definition. Imperialism and colonialism have been used in order to describe ones superiority, domination, colonialism in modern usage also tends to imply a degree of geographic separation between the colony and the imperial power. Thus it can be said that imperialism includes some form of colonialism, colonialism is seen to be the architect deciding how to start dominating areas and then imperialism can be seen as creating the idea behind conquest cooperating with colonialism. Colonialism is when the imperial nation begins a conquest over an area, colonialisms core meaning is the exploitation of the valuable assets and supplies of the nation that was conquered and the conquering nation then gaining the benefits from the spoils of the war. The meaning of imperialism is to create an empire, by conquering the states lands
Imperialism
–
Ottoman wars in Europe
Imperialism
–
Cecil Rhodes and the
Cape-Cairo railway project. Rhodes founded the
De Beers Mining Company, owned the
British South Africa Company and had his name given to what became the state of
Rhodesia. He liked to "paint the map
British red" and declared: "all of these stars... these vast worlds that remain out of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets".
Imperialism
–
French poster about the "
Madagascar War "
Imperialism
–
Japanese march into
Zhengyangmen of
Beijing after capturing the city in July 1937.
12.
Stuart Townsend
–
Stuart Peter Townsend is an Irish actor. Townsend was born in Howth, County Dublin, the son of Lorna Hogan, an Irish model, and Peter Townsend, an English professional golfer. He attended the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin where he made his stage debut in the schools 1993 production of Colin Teevans Tear Up The Black Sail. His professional stage debut was in 1994s True Lines, directed by John Crowley, True Lines was first performed in Kilkenny, it later moved to the Dublin Theatre Festival and on to the Bush Theatre in London. Townsends early film roles were in Irish short films such as Godsuit and his first part in a feature length film was Trojan Eddie, a 1996 Anglo-Irish co-production. In 1997 he landed a role in the British film Shooting Fish. After his appearance as the seducer in the role of About Adam, he started to be noticed in the United States by critics. In mid-2000, he returned to the London stage in the Tennessee Williams play Orpheus Descending, starring as Val Xavier. He appeared in big films, including Queen of the Damned, as the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Townsend was hired to play the part of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, according to Townsend, In 2005, he starred alongside Gabrielle Union in Night Stalker, the remake of the 1974 ABC TV series Kolchak, The Night Stalker. He played the part of Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter looking into his wifes murder, Night Stalker was abruptly cancelled by ABC after six episodes due to bad viewing figures. He was cited as too young by many reviewers and fans of the original series comparing him to Darren McGavin in the original series. The same year, he played a guest starring role on NBCs Will & Grace as the pastry chef of Karen Walker who seduces her, Will Truman. He also made an cameo in 2005s live-action Æon Flux film. Townsend starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in the 2007 comedy Chaos Theory, the films cast included Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta and Woody Harrelson, but enjoyed only limited release and no blockbuster support. He was set to play Fandral in Kenneth Branaghs Thor, but was replaced in January 2010, Townsend also starred in the ABC thriller, Betrayal and starred in the second season of Salem. Townsends father, Peter, was a golfer, who played in the 1969 and 1971 Ryder Cups, Townsend has a brother, Dylan Townsend, and sister, Chloe Townsend, from his fathers first marriage to Lorna Townsend, who died in 1994 of a brain haemorrhage. Townsends father has two children, Hugo and Ella, by his Swedish wife, Sofia, Townsend dated actress Charlize Theron after meeting her on the set of 2002s Trapped
Stuart Townsend
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Townsend at the Beverly Hills special screening of Battle in Seattle – 22 September 2008.
13.
Battle in Seattle
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Battle in Seattle is a 2007 political action film and the directorial debut of actor Stuart Townsend, who also wrote the screenplay. The story is based on the protest activity at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, the film premiered on May 22,2008 at the Seattle International Film Festival. The film depicts the protest in 1999, as thousands of activists arrive in Seattle, the movie takes an in-depth look at several fictional characters during those five days in 1999 as demonstrators protested the meeting of the WTO in Seattles streets. The movie portrays conflicts between the protesters and a minority committing property destruction whose actions were widely covered by the media. Though the film is based on events, the characters are fictional. The critical consensus was that the film, though Well intentioned and passionate, according to EW. com, the film sounds like a bad TV movie, a drama based on the protests that halted the 1999 World Trade Organization summit in Seattle. Yet Stuart Townsend re-creates it all with stunning passion and skill, the film also received positive reviews from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. In a pamphlet titled And What About Tomorrow, the collective allege that the protests were characterized in the film as an isolated spontaneous uprising in which a small fringe group of black bloc anarchists stole the show, whereas CrimethInc. The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle, Battle in Seattle on Myspace Battle in Seattle at the Internet Movie Database Battle in Seattle at Box Office Mojo Battle in Seattle at AllMovie Battle in Seattle at Rotten Tomatoes
Battle in Seattle
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Theatrical poster
14.
Blue Scholars
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Blue Scholars is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi and MC Geologic, were students at University of Washington. The name Blue Scholars is a play on the blue collar. Their music and lyrics focus on struggles between socioeconomic classes, challenging authority and youth empowerment. S. Recent music has begun to even further outward, reflecting the groups greater West Coast. Since 2002, Blue Scholars have been based in southeast Seattle, the hip hop group first came to be in 2002 because, two students skipped a class, went and crafted an album, as it says in the track Bayani. The two students, George Quibuyen and Alexei Saba Mohajerjasbi, were attending the University of Washington at the time, the two met at a meeting for S. H. O. W. Which was organized by classmate and future manager Marc Matsui, the organization had set out to revive an authentic interest in hip hop within Seattle which, at the time, had become a solely rock town. This was a result of a series of incidents including a shooting at an Ice Cube concert in the early 1990s as well as the Teen Dance Ordinance. George and Alexei soon joined forces and formed their own duo that utilized Geos raps and Sabzis beats, since then the duo has performed in over 400 shows together across the United States including the Sasquatch. Music Festival in 2005,2006, and 2008, and Bumbershoot opening for Kanye West in 2006. They have opened for and shared stages with artists as De La Soul, Slick Rick, Wordsworth, Kanye West, Hieroglyphics, Immortal Technique, The Coup. Over the years the duo has continued to use their music as a tool for social change, since those formative years in S. H. O. W. In 2007, Geologic, representing Blue Scholars, went on tour with Hip Hop artist, Kiwi, Geologic is the vocalist for the Blue Scholars and has also performed as a spoken word poet. The son of Filipino immigrants, Quibuyen lived in locations along the west coast. Geo feels rooted in his Filipino heritage and that there is a revolution among his people. His lyrics are drawn from experience, crafted for a connection to community, in 2011, Prometheus Brown released the album Prometheus Brown and Bambu Walk Into A Bar with Los Angeles rapper Bambu. In 2014, they released an album, titled Barkada. Sabzi is of Iranian American heritage and is a jazz-trained pianist and he holds a background in punk and ska before he turned to beats and turntables with the Blue Scholars
Blue Scholars
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Geologic of Blue Scholars
15.
Bayani (album)
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Bayani is the second full-length album by alternative hip hop group Blue Scholars. The album was released on the own label, Mass Line Media. The albums title is a Tagalog and Persian word meaning heroes of the people and those specific languages were chosen because the Blue Scholars two members, Geologic and Sabzi, are Filipino and Persian respectively. The album is similar to the duos previous works, with some songs focused on socio-political issues. The song 50K Deep in particular brings both themes together and describes the events of the Battle of Seattle in November 1999, a video for the song Back Home was produced by Sabzis brother Zia and released in June 2007. The duo also released a video for Joe Metro in November 2007 and it features Geo riding Metros route 48 around Seattle and walking the city streets. A video blog was posted to YouTube documenting the filming of the video, since the original 25,000 copies released through Massline/Rawkus in 2007 are out of print, Blue Scholars re-released this album through Duck Down Records on September 1,2009. The re-release is called Bayani Redux and includes three songs not on the original release, two from digital EPs and one new song. All lyrics written by Geologic, all composed by Sabzi. Sabzi – DJ Geologic – vocals Bahai Healing Prayer on Track 1 chanted by Amu Behnam Khoshkhoo, trombone on Track 6 by Ben OShea, additional vocals by Khingz. Additional vocals on Track 11 by Rahwa Habte and Semone Andu, additional vocals on Track 12 provided by Jill Laxamana. Guitar on Track 14 by Andy Coe, trombone on Track 6 and guitar on Track 14 recorded by Aaron Walker-Loud and Deva Griffin-Grimes at One Family Inc. Mixed by Martin Feveyear and Saba Sabzi Mohajerjasbi at Jupiter Studios, mastered by David Locke at JP Masters, Seattle WA
Bayani (album)
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Bayani
Bayani (album)
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Bayani Redux Cover
16.
1999 Seattle WTO protests
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The Conference was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations. The protests were nicknamed N30, on lines to J18. Planning for the demonstrations began months in advance and included local, national, among the most notable participants were national and international nongovernmental organizations such as Global Exchange, labor unions, student groups, religion-based groups, and anarchists. The coalition was loose, with some opponent groups focused on opposition to WTO policies, with others motivated by prolabor, anticapitalist, many of the NGOs represented at the protests came with credentials to participate in the official meetings, while also planning various educational and press events. The AFL-CIO, with cooperation from its unions, organized a large permitted rally. However, others were interested in taking direct action, including both civil disobedience and acts of vandalism and property destruction to disrupt the meeting. The black bloc was not affiliated with DAN, but was responding to the call for autonomous resistance actions on November 30 issued by Peoples Global Action. Of the different coalitions that aligned in protest were the teamsters and turtles - a blue-green alliance consisting of the teamsters, in a subsequent communique, they listed the particular corporations targeted, which they considered to have committed corporate crime. Needed to counter the effects of globalisation on the poorest nations. The report itself argued, An essential aspect of governance is responsibility to people—to equity, to justice. On July 16, Helene Cooper of the Wall Street Journal warned of a massive mobilization against globalization being planned for the end-of-year Seattle WTO conference. In a series of rulings it has struck down measures to help the poor, protect the environment. It seems to have a drive to extend its power. The spoof front-page stories were Boeing to move overseas and Clinton pledges help for poorest nations, the byline on the Boeing story attributed it to Joe Hill. This ominously foreshadowed the conflict of the North-South divide which was to result in the collapse of the forthcoming WTO talks. In 1997, the APEC Canada meeting was held at the University of British Columbia campus on November 24 and 25 in Vancouver, UBC may have welcomed the filming of Battle in Seattle on its grounds in the light of this past. On the morning of Tuesday November 30,1999, the DANs plan was put into effect, several hundred activists arrived in the deserted streets near the convention center and began to take control of key intersections. Over the next few hours, a number of marchers began to converge on the area from different directions, some demonstrators held rallies, others held teach-ins and at least one group staged an early-morning street party
1999 Seattle WTO protests
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A law enforcement agent sprays
pepper spray at the crowd
1999 Seattle WTO protests
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The "turtles": protestors in sea turtle costumes
1999 Seattle WTO protests
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Seattle police on Union Street, during the protests
1999 Seattle WTO protests
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National Guardsmen marching to their next assignment
17.
Multilateral Agreement on Investment
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The Multilateral Agreement on Investment was a draft agreement negotiated between members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development between 1995 and 1998. It sought to develop multilateral rules that would ensure that investment was governed in a more systematic. International direct investment has been taking place in forms and to different degrees for over a century. Attempts to establish a framework for the protection of foreign investments dates back to the 1920s, the first BIT, between West Germany and Pakistan, was signed in 1959 and their numbers have grown steadily since then, although research suggests that BITs do little to increase foreign investment. In addition to instruments, in 1992 the World Bank adopted Guidelines on the Treatment of Foreign Direct Investment. In 1994 the Energy Charter Treaty provided an example of an investment agreement. The aim was to more consistent, secure and stable investment conditions and to regulate investment in a more uniform, transparent. Although the agreement was to be negotiated between the states, the intention was to have an open agreement to which non-OECD members could accede on a negotiated basis. Contrary to many critics, he argued that the MAI would help prevent a race to the bottom that would undermine high standards of Canadian regulation. More specifically, the agreement would, Minimise the diverse state regulations in governing the conditions under which investments by foreign corporations could take place, enable compensation to corporations for proven unfair or discriminatory investment conditions causing loss of profit. Allow states and corporations recourse to arbitration to settle any disputes arising under the agreement. The MAI was supported by both the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, while BIAC was interested in stable and consistent treatment of investment, TUAC was interested on setting standards on employment and industrial relations. The negotiations on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment were formally launched by the OECDs Ministerial Council in May 1995, the chairperson of the negotiating group was Frans Engering and vice-chairpersons were Al Larson and A. Saiki. The target deadline to finish the negotiations, set by the OECD Ministerial Council, was mid-1997, there was little public awareness of the details of MAI negotiations until a draft of the agreement was leaked in March 1997. The leaked material prompted criticism from different NGOs globally, in April 1998, the negotiations were formally suspended for six months. On 3 December 1998, the OECD announced that negotiations on the MAI are no longer taking place, Multinational corporations enjoy enormous structural and resource advantages over employees and citizens. Yet when the MNCs and major governments tried to expand those advantages through the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, MAI opponents made heavy use of electronic mail and the World Wide Web in raising the alert, sharing information and coordinating actions. They worked collaboratively, flexibly and imaginatively towards their goals while MNCs and governments were working secretively, the international protests against the MAI were the first example of such mass-activism to deploy the Internet
Multilateral Agreement on Investment
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Catherine Lalumière
Multilateral Agreement on Investment
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Terminology
18.
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
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As the nations first hour-long nightly news broadcast, the program is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Throughout their tenure, Ifill and Woodruff were the first and only all-female anchor team of a nightly news program on broadcast television. The PBS NewsHour originates from WETAs studios in Arlington County, Virginia with additional facilities in San Francisco and it is a collaboration between WNET, WETA-TV, and fellow PBS member television stations KQED in San Francisco, KETC in St. Louis and WTTW in Chicago. The NewsHour Weekend is produced at the Tisch WNET studios on Lincoln Center, in 1973, Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer teamed up to cover the United States Senate Watergate hearings for PBS. The two earned an Emmy Award for their unprecedented gavel-to-gavel coverage, less than 1½ months later on December 1,1975, the program was renamed The MacNeil/Lehrer Report and began to air on PBS stations nationwide. Most editions employed a two-anchor, two-city format, with MacNeil based in New York City, Liberty Media bought a 67% controlling equity stake in MacNeil/Lehrer Productions in 1994, but MacNeil and Lehrer retained editorial control. Robert MacNeil retired from the program on October 20,1995, accordingly, the program was renamed The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer three days later on October 23. The NewsHour won a Peabody Award in 2003 for the feature report Jobless Recovery, on May 17,2006, the program underwent its first major change in presentation in years, adopting a new graphics package and a reorchestrated version of the shows theme music. The program also introduced a new set and upconverted its existing graphics package to HD, on May 11,2009, PBS announced that the program would be revamped on December 7 of that year under a revised title as the PBS NewsHour. The overhaul was described by Jim Lehrer as the first phase in his move toward retirement. Lehrer formally ended his tenure as an anchor of the program in June 2011. He continued to anchor on Fridays afterward, when he usually leads the political analysis segment with Mark Shields. On August 6,2013, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff were named as co-anchors, the two shared anchor duties on the Monday through Thursday editions, with Woodruff solo anchoring on Fridays due to Ifills duties as host of the political discussion program Washington Week. Plans for an edition of PBS NewsHour had been considered as early as March 2013. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions announced in a letter to the shows staffers on October 8,2013, the transfer was approved by the WETA board of trustees on June 17,2014, and took effect on July 1. At that time, production of the program was taken over by NewsHour Productions, LLC, WETA also acquired MacNeil/Lehrer Productions archives, documentaries, and projects, though not the companys name. PBS NewsHour Weekend was not affected by the transfer and continues to be produced by WNET. The program is notable for being shown on public television, as such, there are no interruptions during the program to run advertisements
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
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The final title sequence as The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, used from May 17, 2006, to December 6, 2009.
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
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PBS NewsHour logo used since December 7, 2009.
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
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Judy Woodruff interviewing US Secretary of Defense
Chuck Hagel in September 2013.
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
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Behind the scenes at The Newshour, during a Gen.
Peter Pace interview.
19.
Seattle Weekly
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The Seattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly and its first issue was published on March 31,1976. The paper is owned by Sound Publishing, Inc. the largest community news organization in Washington State. Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought Village Voice Medias papers, Sound Publishing, Inc. purchased the Seattle Weekly from Voice Media Group in January 2013. In July 2006, longtime editor-in-chief Knute Berger announced he would be leaving the paper, the Seattle Times profiled the change in leadership at the company in a Business & Technology section news report titled, Uncertain Times at Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly
20.
World Trade Organization accession and membership
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The original member states of the World Trade Organization are the parties to the GATT after ratifying the Uruguay Round Agreements, and the European Communities. They obtained this status at the entry into force on 1 January 1995 or upon their date of ratification, all other members have joined the organization as a result of negotiation, and membership consists of a balance of rights and obligations. As is typical of WTO procedures, an offer of accession is only given once consensus is reached among interested parties. The process takes five years, on average, but it can take some countries almost a decade if the country is less than fully committed to the process. The shortest accession negotiation was that of Kyrgyzstan, lasting 2 years and 10 months, the longest were that of Russia, lasting 19 years and 2 months, Vanuatu, lasting 17 years and 1 month, and China, lasting 15 years and 5 months. As of 2007, WTO member states represented 96. 4% of global trade and 96. 7% of global GDP, iran, followed by Algeria, are the economies with the largest GDP and trade outside the WTO, using 2005 data. The process of accession can be broken down into four major stages, the government applying for membership has to describe all aspects of its trade and economic policies that have a bearing on WTO agreements. The application is submitted to the WTO in a memorandum which is examined by a working party open to all interested WTO Members, for large countries such as Russia, numerous countries participate in this process. For smaller countries, the Quadrilateral group of countries – consisting of the EU, the United States, Canada and Japan – and an applicants neighboring countries are typically most involved. The WP determines the terms and conditions of entry into the WTO for the applicant nation and these talks cover tariff rates and specific market access commitments, and other policies in goods and services. The new members commitments are to apply equally to all WTO members under normal non-discrimination rules, in other words, the talks determine the benefits other WTO members can expect when the new member joins. The talks can be complicated, it has been said that in some cases the negotiations are almost as large as an entire round of multilateral trade negotiations. When the bilateral talks conclude, the working party finalizes the terms of accession, sends an accession package, which includes a summary of all the WP meetings, the Protocol of Accession, and lists of the member-to-bes commitments to the General Council or Ministerial Conference. Once the General Council or Ministerial Conference approves of the terms of accession, the documents used in the accession process which are embargoed during the accession process are released once the nation becomes a member. As of July 2016, the WTO has 164 members, as of 2016, four of the successor states of the SFRY are WTO members, and the remaining two are observers negotiating membership. Four other states, China, Lebanon, Liberia, Syria, were parties to GATT, the remaining WTO members acceded after first becoming WTO observers and negotiating membership. China and Liberia have since acceded to the WTO, the 28 states of the European Union are dually represented, as the EU is a full member of the organization. Thus, Hong Kong became a GATT contracting party, by the now terminated sponsorship procedure of the United Kingdom, the WTO also has 22 observer states, that with the exception of the Holy See must start their accession negotiations within five years of becoming observers
World Trade Organization accession and membership
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Draft Working Party Report or Factual Summary adopted
21.
International Trade Centre
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The International Trade Centre is a subsidiary organization of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and provides trade-related technical assistance. The pure focus on technical assistance is rare within the UN system as most other organizations that provide technical assistance usually engage in multiple areas, ITC has its headquarters in Geneva and one field office in Mexico City. The agreement was reached in 1967 and the International Trade Centre was officially established on 1 January 1968, iTCs service offering is nowhere described in a systematical way. Thus, the following description necessarily contains inaccuracies, ITC offers numerous different services to its beneficiaries. In doing so it differentiates between three groups of beneficiaries, Policymakers trade-support institutions, and enterprises. Some services are designed for one of these groups while others have a universal character. In principle, there is no predefined list of services that ITC is limited to, an interactive online database on international trade statistics. It presents indicators on export performance, international demand, alternative markets, users can choose to see the data either with pre-calculated trade indicators or in times-series from 2001 onward. In 2012, Trade Map, in collaboration with Kompass, included company contact information module to help companies identify trading partners in 64 countries, Trade Map sources yearly data from UN COMTRADE and collect monthly data directly from national statistics bureaus or customs authorities. An analytical web application the serves the Millennium Development Goals efforts the aim of enhancing market access transparency, Market Access Map is used by both economic operators to find information on market requirements and trade policymakers to prepare for trade negotiations. By 2015, Market Access Map includes MFN and preferential tariffs of over 190 countries as well as Non-Tariff Measures data for approximately 70 countries and it recently became available in French and Spanish in response to growing number of active users from Latin America and Africa. ITC had since its creation in 1964 six Executive Directors, twice in its history the position was vacant, in the early Seventies and the early Nineties. ITCs Executive Director is an international civil servant of the United Nations with the level of Assistant Secretary-General. ITCs Executive Director as well as the Deputy-Executive Director are appointed by the heads of its two parent organizations, the Director-General of the WTO and the Secretary-General of the UNCTAD, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development World Trade Organization Trade and development Official website
International Trade Centre
International Trade Centre
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Terminology
22.
Criticism of the World Trade Organization
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The stated aim of the World Trade Organization is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. However, it is important to note that the WTO does not claim to be a free market organization, according to the WTO, it is sometimes described as a free trade institution, but that is not entirely accurate. The system does allow tariffs and, in limited circumstances, other forms of protection, more accurately, it is a system of rules dedicated to open, fair and undistorted economic competition. The actions and methods of the World Trade Organization evoke strong antipathies, among other things, the WTO is accused of widening the social gap between rich and poor it claims to be fixing. UNCTAD estimates that the market distortions cost the developing countries $700 billion annually in lost export revenue, Khor argues that developing countries have not benefited from the WTO Agreements of the Uruguay Round and, therefore, the credibility of the WTO trade system could be eroded. Jagdish Bhagwati asserts, however, that there is greater tariff protection on manufacturers in the poor countries, other critics claim that the issues of labor and environment are steadfastly ignored. Steve Charnovitz, former Director of the Global Environment and Trade Study, on the other side, Khor responds that if environment and labor were to enter the WTO system it would be conceptually difficult to argue why other social and cultural issues should also not enter. He also argues that trade measures have become a vehicle for big corporations, scholars have identified GATT Article XX as a central exception provision that may be invoked by states to deploy policies that conflict with trade liberalization. Bhagwati is also critical towards rich-country lobbies seeking on imposing their unrelated agendas on trade agreements, according to Bhagwati, these lobbies and especially the rich charities have now turned to agitating about trade issues with much energy understanding. Therefore, both Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya have criticized the introduction of TRIPs into the WTO framework, fearing that such non-trade agendas might overwhelm the organizations function, according to Panagariya, taken in isolation, TRIPs resulted in reduced welfare for developing countries and the world as a whole. For a discussion on the incorporation of labor rights into the WTO, results of green room discussions are presented to the rest of the WTO which may vote on the result. They have thus proposed the establishment of a small, informal steering committee that can be delegated responsibility for developing consensus on trade issues among the member countries. The Third World Network has called the WTO the most non-transparent of international organisations, because the vast majority of developing countries have very little real say in the WTO system. Dr Caroline Lucas recommended that such an assembly have a prominent role to play in the form of parliamentary scrutiny, and also in the wider efforts to reform the WTO processes. The lack of transparency is often seen as a problem for democracy, politicians can negotiate for regulations that would not be possible or accepted in a democratic process in their own nations. Some countries push for certain standards in international bodies and then bring those regulations home under the requirement of harmonization. This is often referred to as Policy Laundering, reforming WTO Decision Making, Lessons from Singapore and Seattle
Criticism of the World Trade Organization
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Protestors clashing with
Hong Kong police in the
Wan Chai waterfront area during the
WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005.
23.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
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General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was a multilateral agreement regulating international trade. According to its preamble, its purpose was the reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers. It was negotiated during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization, GATT was signed by 23 nations in Geneva on October 30,1947 and took effect on January 1,1948. It lasted until the signature by 123 nations in Marrakesh on April 14,1994 of the Uruguay Round Agreements, the original GATT text is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the modifications of GATT1994. GATT held a total of nine rounds, The second round took place in 1949 in Annecy,13 countries took part in the round. The main focus of the talks was more tariff reductions, around 5000 in total, the third round occurred in Torquay, England in 1951. Thirty-eight countries took part in the round,8,700 tariff concessions were made totaling the remaining amount of tariffs to ¾ of the tariffs which were in effect in 1948. The contemporaneous rejection by the U. S. of the Havana Charter signified the establishment of the GATT as a world body. The fourth round returned to Geneva in 1955 and lasted until May 1956, twenty-six countries took part in the round. $2.5 billion in tariffs were eliminated or reduced, the fifth round occurred once more in Geneva and lasted from 1960-1962. The talks were named after U. S. Treasury Secretary and former Under Secretary of State, Douglas Dillon, twenty-six countries took part in the round. Along with reducing over $4.9 billion in tariffs, it also yielded discussion relating to the creation of the European Economic Community, the sixth round of GATT multilateral trade negotiations, held from 1963 to 1967. It was named after U. S. President John F. Kennedy in recognition of his support for the reformulation of the United States trade agenda and this Act gave the President the widest-ever negotiating authority. Japans high economic growth rate portended the major role it would play later as an exporter, indeed, there was an influential American view that saw what became the Kennedy Round as the start of a transatlantic partnership that might ultimately lead to a transatlantic economic community. To an extent, this view was shared in Europe, an example of this was the French veto in January 1963, before the round had even started, on membership by the United Kingdom. Another was the crisis of 1965, which ended in the Luxembourg Compromise. Preparations for the new round were immediately overshadowed by the Chicken War, some participants in the Round had been concerned that the convening of UNCTAD, scheduled for 1964, would result in further complications, but its impact on the actual negotiations was minimal. The working hypothesis for the negotiations was a linear tariff cut of 50% with the smallest number of exceptions
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
–
Terminology
24.
Agreement on Government Procurement
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The Agreement on Government Procurement is a plurilateral agreement under the auspices of the World Trade Organization that entered into force in 1981. It was then renegotiated in parallel with the Uruguay Round in 1994, the agreement was subsequently revised on 30 March 2012. The revised GPA came into effect on 6 July 2014 and it regulates the government procurement of goods and services by the public authorities of the parties to the agreement, based on the principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination. Several commentators have suggested that following the United Kingdoms departure from the European Union, the plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement
Agreement on Government Procurement
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Parties
25.
Information Technology Agreement
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Since 1997 a formal Committee under the WTO watches over the following of the Declaration and its Implementations. The aim of the treaty is to all taxes and tariffs on information technology products by signatories to zero. Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products, council for Trade in Goods – Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products. World Trade G/L/160 doc#97-1356, G/L/160/Add.1 doc#97-1935, G/L/160/Add.2 doc#97-3676,2 April 1997,5 May 1997,17 September 1997
Information Technology Agreement
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Information Technology Agreement parties
26.
Pascal Lamy
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Pascal Lamy is a French political consultant and businessman. He was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization until 1 September 2013 and his appointment took effect on 1 September 2005 for a four-year term. In April 2009, WTO members reappointed Lamy for a second four-year term and he was then succeeded by Roberto Azevêdo. Pascal Lamy was also European Commissioner for Trade and is currently the Honorary President of the Paris-based think tank, Notre Europe. Born in Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, Lamy studied at Sciences Po Paris, from HEC and ÉNA, Lamy is also an honorary graduate of the University of Warwick. He then joined the service, and in this role he ended up serving as an adviser to Jacques Delors as Economics and Finance Minister. Lamy has been a member of the French Socialist Party since 1969, when Delors became President of the European Commission in 1984, he took Lamy with him to serve as chef de cabinet, which he did until the end of Delors term in 1994. During his time there, Lamy became known as the Beast of the Berlaymont and he was seen as ruling Delors office with a rod of iron, with no-one able to bypass or manipulate him and those who tried being banished to one of the less pleasant European postings. Lamy briefly moved into business at Crédit Lyonnais, promoted to second in command, he was involved in the restructuring and privatisation of the bank. Returning to the European Commission in 1999, Lamy was appointed European Commissioner for Trade by Commission President Romano Prodi, Lamy served to the expiry of the commissions term in 2004. His ability to manage the powerful civil servants in his department was noted, during his time in office, he pushed for a new Doha round of world trade talks and advocated reform within the WTO. On 13 May 2005, Lamy was chosen as the next director-general of the World Trade Organization and he had been nominated by the European Union and won over candidates including Carlos Pérez del Castillo of Uruguay and Jaya Krishna Cuttaree of Mauritius. On 30 April 2009, Lamy was re-elected unanimously by the WTO General Council for a term of four years. He also served as the chairman of the organizations Trade Negotiations Committee and he was the WTOs fifth director-general. His hobbies include running and cycling, the Geneva Consensus, Making Trade Work for All. The Economic Summit and the European Community
Pascal Lamy
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Pascal Lamy
27.
Supachai Panitchpakdi
–
Supachai Panitchpakdi was Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development from 1 September 2005 to 31 August 2013. Prior to this, he was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization from September 1,2002 to September 1,2005 and he was succeeded by Pascal Lamy. In 1986 Supachai Panitchpakdi was appointed as Thailands Deputy Minister of Finance, in 1992 he returned to politics and became Deputy Prime Minister until 1995, responsible for trade and economics. During the Asian financial crisis in November 1997 he returned to be Deputy Prime Minister, in September 1999 he was elected to become Director-General of the World Trade Organization, sharing the post with competitor Mike Moore when a decision could not be reached. Taking the second half of the term, he entered office on September 1,2002. In March 2005 he was appointed to become the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development following his term at the WTO and he was appointed for a second four-year term in September 2009. Keen to reform and revitalise the organisation, he has established a Panel of Eminent Persons to oversee the start of reform of UNCTAD. Supachai received his masters degree in Economics, Development Planning and his Ph. D. in Economic Planning, in 1973, he completed his doctoral dissertation under supervision of Professor Jan Tinbergen, the first Nobel laureate in economics. In the same year, he went to Cambridge University as a fellow to conduct research on development models. He published numerous books, including Educational Growth in Developing Countries, Globalization and Trade in the New Millennium and China, UNCTAD - Secretary-Generals Office UNCTAD - Secretary-Generals Biography UNDT judgment UNDT/2012/136 Biography at WTO
Supachai Panitchpakdi
–
Supachai Panitchpakdi
28.
Alejandro Jara
–
Alejandro Jara was a Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization. He served in this position from 2005 to 2013 and his career began in 1976 when he joined the Foreign Service of Chile to primarily focus on international economic relations. He was appointed Director for Bilateral Economic Affairs in 1993 and Director for Multilateral Economic Affairs in 1994, in 1999, he was designated Director General for International Economic Relations. He was appointed in 2000 as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Chile to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, hes written a variety of papers on international trade
Alejandro Jara
–
Alejandro Jara (2009).
29.
Economy of Afghanistan
–
The recent improvement is also due to dramatic improvements in agricultural production and the end of a four-year drought in most of the country. The government of Afghanistan claims that the country holds up to $3 trillion in untapped mineral deposits. However, due to the conflicts, it one of the least developed countries in the world. The nations GDP stands at about $34 billion with a rate of $19.85 billion. About 35% of its population is unemployed and 36% live below the poverty line, suffering from shortages of housing, clean drinking water. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in Eurasia, historically, there has been a lack of information and reliable statistics about Afghanistans economy. In the early modern period under the rule of kings Abdur Rahman Khan and Habibullah Khan and this slowed the long-term development of Afghanistan during that period. An emphasis was placed on the manufacture of weapons and other military materiel and this process was in the hands of a small number of western experts invited to Kabul by the Afghan kings. Otherwise, it was not possible for outsiders, particularly westerners, the country began facing severe economic hardships during the 1970s when neighboring Pakistan, under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, began closing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossings. This move resulted in Afghanistan increasing political and economic ties with its northern neighbor, the 1979 Soviet invasion and ensuing civil war destroyed much of the countrys limited infrastructure, and disrupted normal patterns of economic activity. Eventually, Afghanistan went from an economy to a centrally planned economy up until 2002 when it was replaced by a free market economy. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially since the 1980s due to disruption of trade and transport as well as loss of labor, continuing internal strife severely hampered domestic efforts to rebuild the nation or provide ways for the international community to help. According to the International Monetary Fund, the Afghan economy grew 20% in the year ending in March 2004. The growth is attributed to international aid and to the end of droughts, an estimated $4.4 billion of aid entered the nation from 2002 to 2004. A GDP of $4 billion in fiscal year 2003 was recalculated by the IMF to $6.1 billion, mean graduate pay was $0.56 per man-hour in 2010. The Afghan economy has always been agricultural, despite the fact that only 12% of its land is arable. Agriculture production is constrained by an almost total dependence on erratic winter snows, as of 2007, the countrys fruit and nut exports were at $113 million per year, but according to an estimate could grow to more than $800 million per year in 10 years given sufficient investment. Afghanistan is known for producing some of the finest fruits and vegetables, especially pomegranates, apricots, grapes, melons, several provinces in the north of the country are famous for pistachio cultivation but the area currently lacks proper marketing and processing plants
Economy of Afghanistan
–
Afghan Ministry of Finance in
Kabul in 2002
Economy of Afghanistan
–
A fruit vendor at the
Kabul International AgFair in 2009.
Economy of Afghanistan
–
Workers processing
pomegranates (anaar), which
Afghanistan is famous for in Asia.
Economy of Afghanistan
–
Shrikant Jagtap (center), the senior agriculture adviser for the
Bamyan Provincial Reconstruction Team, and his interpreter, Hamidullah, discuss agricultural programs with Sayed Khadin, a potato farmer, in front of one of his fields.
Potatoes have become the main cash crop for the province, contributing millions of dollars to its economy every year.
30.
Economy of Albania
–
The Economy of Albania has undergone a transition from its Communist past into an open-market economy since the early 1990s. As of 2014, exports seemed to be gaining momentum and had increased 300% from 2008, Albania has the second largest oil deposits in the Balkans and the largest onshore oil reserves in Europe. The collapse of communism in Albania came later and was more chaotic than in other Eastern European countries and was marked by an exodus of refugees to Italy. The country attempted to transition to autarky, but this eventually failed badly, attempts at reform began in earnest in early 1992 after real GDP fell by more than 50% from its peak in 1989. Albania currently suffers from high organised crime and corruption rates, key elements included price and exchange system liberalization, fiscal consolidation, monetary restraint, and a firm income policy. Most agriculture, state housing, and small industry were privatized and this trend continued with the privatization of transport, services, and small and medium-sized enterprises. In 1995, the government began privatizing large state enterprises, after reaching a low point in the early 1990s, the economy slowly expanded again, reaching its 1989 level by the end of the decade. This is a chart of Gross Domestic Product of Albania in US dollars based on Purchasing Power Parity from estimates by the International Monetary Fund, for purchasing power parity comparisons, the US dollar is exchanged at 49 leks. Mean wages were $3.83 per man-hour in 2009, Albania is an upper-middle income country by Western European standards, with GDP per capita greater than the several countries in the region. According to Eurostat, Albanias GDP per capita stood at 35 percent of the EU average in 2008, Unemployment rate of 17. 3% is considerably higher than many countries in Balkans, For Example, Serbia has an unemployment rate of 16. 6%. Results of Albanias efforts were initially encouraging, led by the agricultural sector, real GDP grew by an estimated 11% in 1993, 8% in 1994, and more than 8% in 1995, with most of this growth in the private sector. Annual inflation dropped from 25% in 1991 to single-digit numbers, the Albanian currency, the lek, stabilized. Albania became less dependent on food aid, the speed and vigour of private entrepreneurial response to Albanias opening and liberalizing was better than expected. Beginning in 1995, however, progress stalled, with negligible GDP growth in 1996, a weakening of government resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of 1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by the budget deficit which exceeded 12%. Inflation approached 20% in 1996 and 50% in 1997, the lek initially lost up to half of its value during the 1997 crisis, before rebounding to its January 1998 level of 143 to the dollar. The new government, installed in July 1997, has taken measures to restore public order and to revive economic activity. Albania is currently undergoing an intensive macroeconomic restructuring regime with the International Monetary Fund, the need for reform is profound, encompassing all sectors of the economy. In 2000, the oldest commercial bank, Banka Kombetare Tregtare/BKT was privatized, in 2004, the largest commercial bank in Albania—then the Savings Bank of Albania—was privatised and sold to Raiffeisen Bank of Austria for US$124 million
Economy of Albania
–
Albania Export Treemap, 2012
Economy of Albania
–
Fertile fields in the Albanian countryside
31.
Economy of Algeria
–
In 2014, the Algerian economy expanded by 4%, up from 2. 8% in 2013. Growth was driven mainly by the oil and gas sector. In 2012, the Algerian economy grew by 2. 5%, excluding hydrocarbons, growth has been estimated at 5. 8%. Inflation is increasing and is estimated at 8. 9%, the oil and gas sector is the country’s main source of revenues, generated about 70% of total budget receipts. The economy is projected to grow by 3. 2% in 2013, the country’s external position remained comfortable in 2012, with a trade surplus of about USD27.18 billion. Oil and gas export earnings made up more than 97% of total exports, Algeria has enormous possibilities to boost its economic growth, including huge foreign-exchange reserves derived from oil and gas. A development strategy targeting stronger, sustained growth would create jobs, especially for young people. The total imports and exports on the eve of the French invasion did not exceed £175,000. By 1850, the figures had reached £5,000,000, in 1868, £12,000,000, in 1880, £17,000,000, from this point progress was slower and the figures varied considerably year by year. In 1905 the total value of the trade was £24,500,000. About five-sixths of the trade is with or via France, into which country several Algerian goods have been admitted duty-free since 1851, French goods, except sugar, have been admitted into Algeria without payment of duty since 1835. After the 1892 increase of the French minimum tariff which applied to Algeria for the first time, foreign trade greatly diminished. GDP per capita grew 40 percent in the Sixties reaching a growth of 538% in the Seventies But this proved unsustainable. Failure of timely reforms by successive governments caused the current GDP per capita to shrink by 28% in the Nineties and this is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Algeria at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Algerian Dinars. For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 70.01 Algerian Dinars only, average wages in 2007 hover around $18–22 per day. In March 2006, Russia agreed to erase $4.74 billion of Algerias Soviet-era debt during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to the country, Algerias economy has grown at about 4% annually since 1999. The countrys foreign debt has fallen from a high of $28 billion in 1999 to its current level of $5 billion, however, an ongoing drought, the after effects of the November 10,2001 floods and an uncertain oil market make prospects for 2002-03 more problematic. The government pledges to continue its efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign, President Bouteflika has announced sweeping economic reforms, which, if implemented, will significantly restructure the economy
Economy of Algeria
–
View of the oil port of
Béjaïa.
Economy of Algeria
–
New bridge construction near
Aïn Turk.
Economy of Algeria
–
Hotel Zianides in
Tlemcen.
32.
Economy of Angola
–
The Economy of Angola is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with reported annual average GDP growth of 11.1 percent from 2001 to 2010. It is still recovering from 27 years of the war that plagued the country from its independence in 1975 to 2002. Despite extensive oil and gas resources, diamonds, hydroelectric potential, and rich land, Angola remains poor. Since 2002, when the 27-year civil war ended, the nation has worked to repair and improve ravaged infrastructure, the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the Angolan coast in 1484, after which Portugal began to found trading posts and forts along the shore. Paulo Dias de Novais founded Sāo Paulo de Loanda in 1575, são Felipe de Benguella followed in 1587. The principal early trade was in slaves, Portuguese merchants purchased the slaves from the local Imbangala and Mbundu peoples, notable slave hunters, and sold them to the sugarcane plantations in Brazil. Brazilian ships were frequent visitors to Luanda and Benguela and Angola functioned as a kind of colony of Brazil, with Brazilian Jesuits active in its religious, the Portuguese Empire was neglected during the period of the Iberian Union, which lasted from 1580 to 1640. The Dutch, bitter enemies of their masters in Spain. During Portugals separatist war against Spain, the Dutch occupied Luanda from 1640 to 1648, the Dutch used the territory to supply their own slaves to the sugarcane plantations of Northeastern Brazil, which they had also seized from Portugal. John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, conquered the Portuguese possessions of Saint George del Mina, Saint Thomas, Portugal recovered the territory between 1648 and 1650. In the high plains, the Planalto, the most important native states were Bié and Bailundo, Portugal expanded into their territory, but did not control much of the interior prior to the late 19th century. The Portuguese started to develop townships, trading posts, logging camps, from 1764 onwards, there was a gradual change from a slave-based society to one based on production for domestic consumption and export. Following the independence of Brazil in 1822, the trade was formally abolished in 1836. However it did continue locally into the 20th century, in 1844, Angolas ports were opened to foreign shipping. The principal exports of the economy in the 19th century were rubber, beeswax. Maize, tobacco, dried meat and cassava flour also began to be locally produced, grains, sugar, and rum were also produced for local consumption. The principal imports were foodstuffs, cotton goods, hardware, legislation against foreign traders was implemented in the 1890s. The territorys prosperity, however, continued to depend on plantations worked by labor indentured from the interior, from the 1920s to the 1960s, strong economic growth, abundant natural resources and development of infrastructure, led to the arrival of even more Portuguese settlers
Economy of Angola
–
Luanda is the financial center of
Angola
Economy of Angola
–
Angolan exports in 2009
33.
Economy of Argentina
–
The economy of Argentina is a high-income economy, Latin Americas third largest, and the second largest in South America behind Brazil. The country benefits from natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector. Early in the twentieth century Argentina had one of the highest per capita GDP levels in the world, today a high-income economy, Argentina maintains a relatively high quality of life and GDP per capita. Argentina is considered a market by the FTSE Global Equity Index. During its most vigorous period, from 1880 to 1905, this resulted in a 7. 5-fold growth in GDP. One important measure of development, GDP per capita, rose from 35% of the United States average to about 80% during that period, growth then slowed considerably, such that by 1941 Argentinas real per capita GDP was roughly half that of the U. S. Even so, from 1890 to 1950 the countrys per capita income was similar to that of Western Europe, the Great Depression caused Argentine GDP to fall by a fourth between 1929 and 1932. Having recovered its lost ground by the late 1930s partly through import substitution, the populist administration of Juan Perón nationalized the Central Bank, railways, and other strategic industries and services from 1945 to 1955. The subsequent enactment of developmentalism after 1958, though partial, was followed by a promising fifteen years. Inflation first became a problem during this period, but though it did not become fully developed. The economy, however, declined during the dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. Over 400,000 companies of all went bankrupt by 1982. Attempting to remedy this situation, economist Domingo Cavallo pegged the peso to the U. S. dollar in 1991 and his team then embarked on a path of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. Inflation dropped to single digits and GDP grew by one third in four years, Argentinas socio-economic situation has since been steadily improving. Expansionary policies and commodity exports triggered a rebound in GDP from 2003 onward and this trend has been largely maintained, creating over five million jobs and encouraging domestic consumption and fixed investment. Social programs were strengthened, and a number of important firms privatized during the 1990s were renationalized beginning in 2003 and these include the postal service, AySA, Pension funds, Aerolíneas Argentinas, the energy firm YPF, and the railways. The economy nearly doubled from 2002 to 2011, growing an average of 7. 1% annually, real wages rose by around 72% from their low point in 2003 to 2013. The global recession did affect the economy in 2009, with growth slowing to nearly zero, but high economic growth then resumed, and GDP expanded by around 9% in both 2010 and 2011
Economy of Argentina
–
National Bank of Argentina
Economy of Argentina
–
Soy field in Argentina's fertile
Pampas. The versatile legume makes up about half the nation's crop production.
Economy of Argentina
–
Vinyard in
Mendoza Province. The country is the fifth largest producer in the world.
Economy of Argentina
–
View of
Buenos Aires Central Business District from the
Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve.
34.
Economy of Armenia
–
The economy of Armenia is ranked 132nd in the world, with a nominal gross domestic product of $10.561 billion per annum. It is also the 129th largest in the world by purchasing power parity, Armenia is the second-most densely populated of the post-Soviet states because of its small size. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey. Agriculture accounted for only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold and lead. The vast majority of energy is produced with imported fuel, including gas, small amounts of coal, gas and petroleum have not yet been developed. Like other former states, Armenias economy suffers from the legacy of a planned economy. Soviet investment in and support of Armenian industry has virtually disappeared, in addition, the effects of the 1988 earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt. Although a cease-fire has held since 1994, the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved, the consequent blockade along both the Azerbaijani and Turkish borders has devastated the economy, because of Armenias dependence on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes through Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed, routes through Georgia and Iran are adequate, in 1992-93, the GDP had fallen nearly 60% from its 1989 level. The national currency, the dram, suffered hyperinflation for the first few years after its introduction in 1993, Armenia has registered strong economic growth since 1995 and inflation has been negligible for the past several years. New sectors, such as precious stone processing and jewelry making and this steady economic progress has earned Armenia increasing support from international institutions. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank, EBRD, as well as other financial institutions and foreign countries are extending considerable grants. Total loans extended to Armenia since 1993 exceed $800 million, a liberal foreign investment law was approved in June 1994, and a law on privatization was adopted in 1997, as well as a program on state property privatization. The government has made strides toward joining the World Trade Organization. By 1994, however, the Armenian government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic liberalization program that resulted in growth rates in 1995-2005. Armenia joined the World Trade Organization in January 2003, Armenia also has managed to slash inflation, stabilize its currency, and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. Armenias unemployment rate, however, remains high, despite strong economic growth, the chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early and mid-1990s have been offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia is now a net energy exporter, although it not have sufficient generating capacity to replace Metsamor
Economy of Armenia
–
Yerevan
Economy of Armenia
–
100 million rubles banknote
Economy of Armenia
–
Armenian State Revenue Committee (housing both the Armenian Customs Service and the Armenian Tax Service) claimed to be corrupt.
Economy of Armenia
–
2009 export percentages
35.
Economy of Australia
–
The economy of Australia is one of the largest mixed market economies in the world, with a GDP of AUD$1.62 trillion as of 2015. Australias total wealth is AUD$6.4 trillion in 2013, in 2012, it was the 12th largest national economy by nominal GDP and the 17th-largest measured by PPP-adjusted GDP, about 1. 7% of the world economy. Australia is the 19th-largest importer and 19th-largest exporter, the Reserve Bank of Australia publishes quarterly forecasts of the economy. The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector, comprising 68% of GDP, the mining sector represents 7% of GDP, including services to mining, the total value of the mining industry in 2009-10 was 8. 4% of GDP. Economic growth is dependent on the mining sector and agricultural sector with the products to be exported mainly to the East Asian market. Despite the recent decline of the boom in the country. The Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney is the largest stock exchange in Australia and in the South Pacific, the Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia and its territories, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is also the currency of the independent Pacific Island nations of Kiribati, Nauru. Australia is a member of the APEC, G20, OECD, the country has also entered into free trade agreements with ASEAN, Canada, Chile, China, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. The ANZCERTA agreement with New Zealand has greatly increased integration with the economy of New Zealand, Australias average GDP growth rate for the period 1901–2000 was 3. 4% annually. As opposed to many Southeast Asian countries, the process towards independency was relatively peaceful and thus did not have significant negative impact on the economy, growth peaked during the 1920s, followed by the 1950s and the 1980s. By contrast, the late 1910s/early 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, from the early 1980s onwards, the Australian economy has undergone a continuing economic liberalisation. In 1983, under Prime Minister Bob Hawke, but mainly driven by Treasurer Paul Keating, the early 1990s recession came swiftly after the Black Monday of October 1987, resulting from a stock collapse of unprecedented size caused the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall by 22. 6%. This collapse, larger than the market crash of 1929, was handled effectively by the global economy. However, in North America, the savings and loans industry was facing decline which eventually led to a savings. The following recession thus impacted the many countries closely linked to the United States, Paul Keating, who was Prime Minister at the time, famously referred to it as the recession that Australia had to have. During the recession, GDP fell by 1. 7%, employment by 3. 4%, despite this, there was a beneficial reduction in inflation. The establishment of a mining industry continued the high level of growth in the post-war period
Economy of Australia
–
Sydney's central business district, a major financial and business services hub.
Economy of Australia
–
Australian household finances – debt and interest
36.
Economy of Bahrain
–
The Bahraini currency is the second-highest-valued currency unit in the world. Since the late 20th century, Bahrain has heavily invested in the banking, the countrys capital, Manama is home to many large financial structures. Bahrains finance industry is very successful, in 2008, Bahrain was named the worlds fastest growing financial center by the City of Londons Global Financial Centres Index. Bahrains banking and financial sector, particularly Islamic banking, have benefited from the regional boom driven by demand for oil. Petroleum production is Bahrains most exported product, accounting for 60% of export receipts, 70% of government revenues, aluminium production is the second most exported product, followed by finance and construction materials. According to the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, Bahrain has the freest economy in the Middle East, an alternative index, published by the Fraser Institute, puts Bahrain in 44th place tied with 7 other countries. Bahrain was recognised by the World Bank as an income economy. This is a chart of trend of gross product of Bahrain at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Bahraini Dinars. For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 0.30 Bahraini Dinars only, mean wages were $19.81 per man-hour in 2009. In 2003 and 2004, the balance of performance improved due to rising oil prices. As a result, the current account balance registered a surplus of US$219 million in 2003, Bahrains gross international reserves increased substantially in 2004 to US$1.6 billion, compared with US$1.4 billion in the previous three years. Though Current GDP per capita shrank by 2. 4% in the 1980s, Bahrains urgency in embracing economic liberalisation is due to its need to diversify the economy away from its limited oil supplies. Unlike its Persian Gulf neighbours, Bahrain has little oil wealth, the Kingdom is the main banking hub for the Persian Gulf and a centre for Islamic finance, which has been attracted by the strong regulatory framework for the industry. The main risk stems from potential overheating in the economies of the region, prudential regulations are modern and comprehensive, and supervision is generally effective, especially in the dominant banking sector. Supervisory capacity needs to be expanded in line with new regulations and to keep up with the growth, the further expansion of the Islamic sector, the development of housing finance, and the deepening of securities markets are important for the future growth of the financial system. The banking and insurance sectors will eventually undergo consolidation, in 2005, Bahrain signed the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, becoming the first Persian Gulf state to sign such a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. As a result, the economy has been positioned to exploit the extra revenues generated in the region thanks to the sustained high oil prices since 2002. In January 2006, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia cited Bahrain as the fastest growing economy in the Arab world, between 1981 and 1993, Bahrain Government expenditures increased by 64%
Economy of Bahrain
–
Bahrain skyline
37.
Economy of Bangladesh
–
According to the IMF, Bangladeshs economy is the second fastest growing major economy of 2016, with a rate of 7. 1%. In the decade since 2004, Bangladesh averaged a GDP growth of 6. 5%, that has been driven by its exports of ready made garments, remittances. The country has pursued export-oriented industrialisation, with its key sectors include textiles, shipbuilding, fish and seafood, jute. It has also developed self-sufficient industries in pharmaceuticals, steel and food processing, Bangladeshs telecommunication industry has witnessed rapid growth over the years, receiving high investment from foreign companies. Bangladesh also has reserves of natural gas and is Asias seventh largest gas producer. Offshore exploration activities are increasing in its territory in the Bay of Bengal. It also has deposits of limestone. The government promotes the Digital Bangladesh scheme as part of its efforts to develop the growing information technology sector. Bangladesh is strategically important for the economies of Northeast India, Nepal and Bhutan, as Bangladeshi seaports provide maritime access for these landlocked regions, China also views Bangladesh as a potential gateway for its landlocked southwest, including Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan. In 2016, per-capita income was estimated as per IMF data at US$3,840, the economy faces challenges of infrastructure bottlenecks, insufficient power and gas supplies, bureaucratic corruption, political instability, natural calamities and a lack of skilled workers. East Bengal - the eastern segment of Bengal - was a prosperous region. The Ganges Delta provided advantages of a mild, almost tropical climate, fertile soil, ample water, and an abundance of fish, wildlife, the standard of living is believed to have been higher compared with other parts of South Asia. As early as the century, the region was developing as an agrarian economy. Bengal was the junction of routes on the Southeastern Silk Road. Under Mughal rule, it was a center of the muslin, silk. The development of East Bengal was thereafter limited to agriculture, after its independence from Pakistan, Bangladesh followed a socialist economy by nationalising all industries, proving to be a critical blunder undertaken by the Awami League government. Some of the factors that had made East Bengal a prosperous region became disadvantages during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As life expectancy increased, the limitations of land and the annual floods increasingly became constraints on economic growth, traditional agricultural methods became obstacles to the modernisation of agriculture
Economy of Bangladesh
–
Economy of Bangladesh
Economy of Bangladesh
–
Scented
rice. Bangladesh is the world's 4th largest rice producer
Economy of Bangladesh
–
Chittagong harbor, 18th century
Economy of Bangladesh
–
The
Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge was opened in 1998.
38.
Economy of Barbados
–
Barbados went into a deep recession in the 1990s after 3 years of steady decline brought on by fundamental macroeconomic imbalances. After a painful re-adjustment process, the economy began to again in 1993. Growth rates have averaged between 3%–5% since then, the countrys three main economic drivers are, tourism, the international business sector, and foreign direct-investment. These are supported in part by Barbados operating as a service-driven economy, although it is often quoted that Barbados’ main produce is sugar there are only two working sugar factories remaining in the country. At the end of 2013 Barbados economy continued to exhibited signs of weakness, since the first settlement by the British in 1625, through history the economy of Barbados was primarily dependent on agriculture. It had been recorded that minus the marshes and gully regions, quickly Barbados was then divided into large estate-plantations and using indentured labour mainly from the British Isles for the cultivation of tobacco and cotton crops were first introduced. The island, facing a large amount of competition from the North American colonies, cultivation of sugar cane was quickly introduced by the exiled Jewish community which immigrated into Barbados from Dutch Brazil during the mid-17th century. For about the next 100 years Barbados remained the richest of all the European colonies in the Caribbean region due to sugar, the prosperity in the colony of Barbados remained regionally unmatched until sugar cane production caught up in geographically larger countries such as Jamaica and elsewhere. Despite being eclipsed by larger makers of sugar, Barbados continued to produce the well into the 20th century. With the emancipation of African slaves in the British Empire in 1811, thereafter many Bajans started to more emphasis on upward mobility. During the 1920s, politicians in Barbados started a push for more self-government along with Barbados seeking to more of the profits from economic growth within the country. Much of the profits were being repatriated by the British government to the United Kingdom, as the 1940s–1950s rolled around, Barbados moved towards developing political ties with neighbouring Caribbean islands. By 1958 the West Indies Federation was created by Britain for Barbados, the Federation was first led by the premier of Barbados, however the experiment ended by 1962. Later Barbados tried to negotiate several other unions with other islands, the island peacefully negotiated with Britain its own independence and became a sovereign nation at midnight on 30 November 1966. After the country independent of the United Kingdom on 30 November 1966 sugar cane still remained a chief money-maker for Barbados. The islands politicians tried to diversify the economy from just agriculture, during the 1950s–1960s visitors from both Canada and the United Kingdom started transforming tourism into a huge contributor for the Barbadian economy. As the 1970s progressed, global companies started to recognise Barbados for its educated population. In May 1972 Barbados formed its own Central Bank, breaking off from the East Caribbean Currency Authority
Economy of Barbados
–
Central Bank of Barbados
Economy of Barbados
–
The cultivation of sugar cane, such as the cane growing in this field outside
Saint Andrew, has always been a big part of the island's economy.
Economy of Barbados
–
Bathsheba, Saint Joseph
Economy of Barbados
–
The independent
Woolworth store on Prince William Henry Street, Bridgetown
39.
Economy of Belize
–
Belize has a small, essentially private enterprise economy that is based primarily on agriculture, tourism, and services. The cultivation of newly discovered oil in the town of Spanish Lookout has presented new prospects. Besides petroleum, Belizes other primary exports are citrus, sugar, Belizes trade deficit has been growing, mostly as a result of low export prices for sugar and bananas. The new government faces important challenges to economic stability, rapid action to improve tax collection has been promised, but a lack of progress in reining in spending could bring the exchange rate under pressure. The Belize Dollar is fixed to the U. S. dollar at a rate of 2,1, domestic industry is limited, constrained by relatively high-cost labour and energy and a small domestic market. Tourism attracts the most foreign investment although significant foreign investment is also found in the energy, telecommunications. Belizes economy depended on forestry until well into the 20th century, logwood, used to make dye, was Belizes initial main export. However, the supply outstripped the demand, especially as Europeans developed man-made dyes which were less expensive, loggers turned to mahogany, which grew in abundance in the countrys forests. The wood was prized for use in cabinets, ships, while many merchants and traders became wealthy from the mahogany industry, ups and downs in the market had a large impact on the economy. In addition, new mahogany trees werent being planted, because mahogany trees grow slowly, the rate of natural regrowth necessitated a large, long-term investment in tree farming, which was not made. As the 19th century progressed, loggers were forced to go deeper into the forests to find the trees, variations of mahogany exports over long periods of time were linked to the accessible supply of the resource. Immediately after the introduction of cattle in the early 19th century, tractors in the 1920s, when the supply of accessible timber dwindled and logging became too unprofitable in the 20th century, the countrys economy shifted to new sectors. Cane sugar became the principal export and recently has been augmented by expanded production of citrus, bananas, seafood, the country has about 8,090 km² of arable land, only a small fraction of which is under cultivation. Banana production accounted for 16 percent of total Belizean exports in 1999, citrus fruits are Belizes second most important agricultural crop. A major constraint on a market economy in Belize continues to be the scarcity of infrastructure investments. Although electricity, telephone, and water utilities are all relatively good, several capital projects are currently underway. The largest of these is a $15 million rural electrification program to be implemented by the government. Development costs are high, but the Government of Belize has designated tourism as its second development priority after agriculture, in 2011, tourist arrivals totaled 888,191 and tourist receipts amounted to $260 million
Economy of Belize
–
Belize City
Economy of Belize
–
Agriculture is a key part of the economy
40.
Economy of Benin
–
The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture and cotton. Cotton accounts for 40% of GDP and roughly 80% of official export receipts, there is also production of textiles, palm products, and cocoa beans. Maize, beans, rice, peanuts, cashews, pineapples, cassava, yams, Benin began producing a modest quantity of offshore oil in October 1982. Production ceased in recent years but exploration of new sites is ongoing, a modest fishing fleet provides fish and shrimp for local subsistence and export to Europe. Formerly government-owned commercial activities are now privatized, a French brewer acquired the former state-run brewery. Smaller businesses are owned by Beninese citizens, but some firms are foreign owned, primarily French. The private commercial and agricultural sectors remain the principal contributors to growth, since the transition to a democratic government in 1990, Benin has undergone an economic recovery. The manufacturing sector is confined to light industry, which is mainly involved in processing primary products. The service sector has grown quickly, stimulated by economic liberalization and fiscal reform, membership of the CFA Franc Zone offers reasonable currency stability as well as access to French economic support. Benin sells its products mainly to France and, in quantities, to the Netherlands, Korea, Japan. France is Benins leading source for imports, Benin is also a member of the Economic Community of West African States. Despite its rapid growth, the economy of Benin still remains underdeveloped and dependent on agriculture, cotton production. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% since 1996, but a population rise offset much of this growth on a per capita basis. Inflation has subsided over the past several years, commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. Two major products involved such working conditions in Benin, cotton, benin’s financial sector is dominated by banks, and in general remains shallow. However, a series of reforms were undertaken in the 1990s, a legal framework regarding licensing, bank activities, organizational and capital requirements, inspections and sanctions is in place and underwent significant reforms in 1999. There is no customer deposit insurance system, Benin has a lively and diversified microfinance sector. Data from 2003 by the Central Bank stated a penetration rate of services of almost 60 percent
Economy of Benin
–
Cotonou is the largest city and economic capital of
Benin
41.
Economy of Bolivia
–
The economy of Bolivia is the 95th largest economy in the world in nominal terms and the 87th economy in terms of purchasing power parity. It is classified by the World Bank to be a middle income country. With a Human Development Index of 0.675, it is ranked 119th, the Bolivian economy has had a historic pattern of a single-commodity focus. From silver to tin to coca, Bolivia has enjoyed only occasional periods of economic diversification, political instability and difficult topography have constrained efforts to modernize the agricultural sector. Similarly, relatively low population growth coupled with low life expectancy and high incidence of disease has kept the supply in flux. The mining industry, especially the extraction of gas and zinc. Inflation has plagued, and at times crippled, the Bolivian economy since the 1970s, at one time in 1985, Bolivia experienced an inflation rate of more than 20,000 percent. Fiscal and monetary reform reduced the rate to single digits by the 1990s. The most important structural changes in the Bolivian economy have involved the capitalization of numerous public sector enterprises, a major reform of the customs service in recent years has significantly improved transparency in this area. Parallel legislative reforms have locked into place market-oriented policies, especially in the hydrocarbon and telecommunication sectors, foreign investors are accorded national treatment, and foreign ownership of companies enjoys virtually no restrictions in Bolivia. The government has a sales agreement to sell 30 million cubic metres a day of natural gas to Brazil through 2019. The Brazil pipeline carried about 21 MMcmd in 2000, Bolivia has the second-largest natural gas reserves in South America, and its current domestic use and exports to Brazil account for just a small portion of its potential production. Natural gas exports to Argentina resumed in 2004 at four MMcmd, in April 2000, violent protests over plans to privatize the water utility in the city of Cochabamba led to nationwide disturbances. The government eventually cancelled the contract without compensation to the investors, the foreign investors in this project continue to pursue an investment dispute case against Bolivia for its actions. A similar situation occurred in 2005 in the cities of El Alto, protest and widespread opposition to exporting gas through Chile led to the resignation of President Sanchez de Lozada in October 2003. The government held a referendum in 2004 on plans to export natural gas. By May 2005, the law draft was being considered by the Senate. Bolivias 2016 gross domestic product referred to PPP totaled $78.35 billion and its standard of living, as measured in GDP in PPP per capita was US $7,191
Economy of Bolivia
–
Economy of Bolivia
42.
Economy of Botswana
–
Since independence, Botswana has had the highest average economic growth rate in the world, averaging about 9% per year from 1966 to 1999. Growth in private sector employment has averaged about 10% per annum over the first 30 years of independence, Botswana is also commended for the site of Africas longest and among the worlds longest economic booms. The relatively high quality of the countrys statistics means that these figures are likely to be quite accurate, the government has consistently maintained budget surpluses and has extensive foreign exchange reserves. Botswanas impressive economic record has been built on a foundation of diamond mining, prudent fiscal policies, international financial and technical assistance, and it is rated the least corrupt country in Africa, according to international corruption watchdog, Transparency International. By one estimate, it has the fourth highest gross income at purchasing power parity in Africa, giving it a standard of living around that of Mexico. Nevertheless, although Botswana is in ways a exemplar for countries in the region, its dependence on mining and high rate of HIV/AIDS infection. Trade unions represent a minority of workers in the Botswana economy, in general they are loosely organized in-house unions, although the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions is consolidating its role as the sole national trade union centre in the country. Agriculture still provides a livelihood for more than 80% of the population but supplies only about 50% of food needs, subsistence farming and cattle raising predominate. The sector is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils, Tourism is also important to the economy. Substantial mineral deposits were found in the 1970s and the sector grew from 25% of GDP in 1980 to 38% in 1998. Unemployment officially is 21% but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%, the Orapa 2000 project doubled the capacity of the countrys main diamond mine from early 2000. This will be the force behind continued economic expansion. Economic growth slowed in 2005-2008, then turned negative in 2009 and this was due in part to a major recession in the industrial sector, which shrank by 30%, and contrasts with most other African nations who experienced continued growth through this period. Some of Botswanas budget deficits can be traced to relatively high military expenditures, some critics contend this is unnecessary, given the low likelihood of international conflict, but these troops are also used for multilateral operations and assistance efforts. One of the biggest problems is the level of economy diversification they have. In 2008, they depended largely on services, industry and agriculture strictly linked to the trade with South Africa, Botswana is part of the Southern African Customs Union with South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Namibia. The World Bank reports that in 2001, the SACU had a weighted average common external tariff rate of 3.6 percent, based on the revised trade factor methodology, Botswanas trade policy score is unchanged. The main export of Botswana is diamonds, Jwaneng, in Botswana, is the worlds largest and richest diamond mine thus the demand of diamonds from Botswana is fairly high
Economy of Botswana
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Southern African Development Community headquarters in
Gaborone
Economy of Botswana
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Graphical depiction of Botswana's product exports in 28 color-coded categories.
Economy of Botswana
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The
Jwaneng diamond mine is the richest in the world today.
Economy of Botswana
–
A
giraffe in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
43.
Economy of Brazil
–
Brazil has the worlds ninth largest economy by nominal GDP, and the fifth largest by purchasing power parity. The Brazilian economy is characterized by an inward-oriented economy, Brazils economy is the largest of Latin America and the second largest in the Americas. However, Brazils economy growth decelerated in 2013 and the country entered a recession in 2014. Brazil is a member of diverse organizations, such as Mercosur, Unasul, G8+5, G20, WTO. When the Portuguese explorers arrived in the 16th century, the tribes of current-day Brazil. From Portugals colonization of Brazil until the late 1930s, the elements of the Brazilian economy relied on the production of primary products for exports. The economy of Brazil was heavily dependent on African enslaved labour until the late 19th century, in Brazils case, statistics showed that 4.5 million people emigrated to the country between 1882 and 1934.5 million television sets, and 3 million refrigerators. In addition, about 70 million cubic meters of petroleum were being processed annually into fuels, lubricants, propane gas, furthermore, Brazil has at least 161,500 kilometers of paved roads and more than 93 Gigawatts of installed electric power capacity. Its real per capita GDP has surpassed US$10,500 in 2008, due to the strong and its industrial sector accounts for three-fifths of the Latin American economys industrial production. The agricultural sector and the sector also supported trade surpluses which allowed for massive currency gains. Due to a downturn in Western economies, Brazil found itself in 2010 trying to halt the appreciation of the real, data from the Asian Development Bank and the Tax Justice Network show the untaxed shadow economy of GDP for Brazil is 39%. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 67.0 percent, agriculture represents 5.5 percent of GDP. Brazilian labor force is estimated at 100.77 million of which 10 percent is occupied in agriculture,19 percent in the sector and 71 percent in the service sector. Agribusiness contributes to Brazils trade balance, in spite of trade barriers, in the space of fifty five years, the population of Brazil grew from 51 million to approximately 187 million inhabitants, an increase of over 2 percent per year. Brazil created and expanded a complex agribusiness sector, however, some of this is at the expense of the environment, including the Amazon. With regards to agriculture, over 800 thousand rural inhabitants are assisted by credit, research. A special line of credit is available for women and young farmers, the idea is that access to land represents just the first step towards the implementation of a quality land reform program. At the forefront of grain crops, which produce over 110 million tonnes/year, is the soybean, Brazil has the largest cattle herd in the world, with 198 million heads, responsible for exports surpassing the mark of US$1 billion/year
Economy of Brazil
–
The Itaim Bibi Financial District, São Paulo, Brazil
Economy of Brazil
–
Economic Activity in Brazil (
1977).
Economy of Brazil
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Industrial production
Economy of Brazil
–
Renewable energy in
Fortaleza.
44.
Economy of Brunei
–
Brunei is a country with a small, wealthy economy that is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation and welfare measures, and village tradition. It is almost totally supported by exports of oil and natural gas. Per capita GDP is high, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production, the government provides for all medical services and subsidizes food and housing. The government has shown progress in its policy of diversifying the economy away from oil. Growth in 1999 was estimated at 2. 5% due to oil prices in the second half. Brunei is the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia, averaging about 180,000 barrels per day and it also is the fourth-largest producer of liquefied natural gas in the world. This is a chart of trend of gross product of Brunei Darussalam at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Bruneian dollars. For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US dollar is exchanged at 1.52 Bruneian dollars only, mean wages were $25.38 per man-hour in 2009. The government regulates the immigration of foreign labor out of concern it might disrupt Bruneis society, work permits for foreigners are issued only for short periods and must be continually renewed. Despite these restrictions, foreigners make up a significant portion of the work force, the government reported a total work force of 122,800 in 1999, with an unemployment rate of 5. 5%. Oil and natural gas account for almost all exports, since only a few products other than petroleum are produced locally, a wide variety of items must be imported. Brunei statistics show Singapore as the largest point of origin of imports, however, this figure includes some transshipments, since most of Bruneis imports transit Singapore. Japan and Malaysia were the second-largest suppliers, as in many other countries, Japanese products dominate local markets for motor vehicles, construction equipment, electronic goods, and household appliances. The United States was the third-largest supplier of imports to Brunei in 1998, Bruneis substantial foreign reserves are managed by the Brunei Investment Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Finance. The Brunei Government actively encourages foreign investment. New enterprises that meet certain criteria can receive pioneer status, exempting profits from tax for up to 5 years. The normal corporate tax rate is 30%. There is no income tax or capital gains tax
Economy of Brunei
–
Bandar Seri Begawan Centre Economy of Brunei Darussalam
Economy of Brunei
–
Brunei Exports Treemap (2009)
45.
Economy of Burkina Faso
–
Burkina Faso has an average income purchasing-power-parity per capita of $1,666 and nominal per capita of $790 in 2014. More than 80% of the population relies on agriculture, with only a small fraction directly involved in industry. Highly variable rainfall, poor soils, lack of communications and other infrastructure, a low literacy rate. The export economy also remains subject to fluctuations in world prices, the country has a high population density, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations, maintenance of its macroeconomic progress depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment. The Burkinabé financial system represents 30% of the country’s GDP and is dominated by the banking sector, eleven banks and five non-bank financial institutions operate in the country. The banking sector is concentrated, with the three largest banks holding nearly 60% of total financial sector assets. Banks are generally adequately capitalized, but remain vulnerable due to their overexposure to the cotton sector, as of 2007, the World Bank estimated that 26% of the Burkinabé population has access to financial services. The Central Bank of the West African States reports that about 41 microfinance institutions operate in the country, Burkina Faso is a member of the regional Bourse Regional des Valeurs Mobilières located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. As of 2009, the regional stock market capitalization reached nearly 10% of Burkina Faso’s GDP. Burkina Faso was ranked the 111th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings and this is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Burkina Faso at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of CFA Francs. For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 470.70 CFA Francs only, mean wages were $0.56 per man-hour in 2009. Current GDP per capita of Burkina Faso grew 13% in the Sixties reaching a growth of 237% in the Seventies. But this proved unsustainable and growth scaled back to 23% in the Eighties. Finally, it shrank by 37% in the Nineties, average wages in 2007 hover around 2 to 3 dollars per day. Although handicapped by an extremely resource-deprived domestic economy, Burkina Faso remains committed to the adjustment program it launched in 1991. It has largely recovered from the devaluation of the CFA in January 1994, many Burkinabé migrate to neighbouring countries for work, and their remittances provide a substantial contribution to the balance of payments. The agricultural economy highly vulnerable to fluctuations in rainfall
Economy of Burkina Faso
–
Burkina Faso Exports Treemap (2009)
Economy of Burkina Faso
–
Ouagadougou financial centre of Burkina Faso
46.
Economy of Burma
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The economy of Myanmar is an emerging economy with an estimated nominal GDP of $63.14 billion and a purchasing power adjusted GDP of $244.37 billion in 2014. Historically, Burma was the trade route between India and China since 100 BC. The Mon Kingdom of lower Burma served as important trading centre in the Bay of Bengal, Burma also lacked a formal monetary system until the reign of King Mindon Min in the middle 19th century. All land was owned by the Burmese monarch. Exports, along with oil wells, gem mining and teak production were controlled by the monarch, Burma was vitally involved in the Indian Ocean trade. Logged teak was a prized export that was used in European shipbuilding, because of its durability, after Burma was conquered by the British, it became the wealthiest country in Southeast Asia, after the Philippines. It was also once the worlds largest exporter of rice, during British administration, Burma supplied oil through the Burmah Oil Company. This supplying market received a setback through the depression in the 1930s. Burma suffered, like other countries in this region, from the decline in the level of global trade. Burma also had a wealth of natural and labour resources and it produced 75% of the worlds teak and had a highly literate population. The country was believed to be on the fast track to development, after a parliamentary government was formed in 1948, Prime Minister U Nu embarked upon a policy of nationalisation. He attempted to make Burma a welfare state by adopting central planning measures, the government also tried to implement a poorly thought out Eight-Year plan. By the 1950s, rice exports had fallen by two thirds and mineral exports by over 96%, plans were partly financed by printing money, which led to inflation. The 1962 coup détat was followed by a scheme called the Burmese Way to Socialism. The catastrophic program turned Burma into one of the worlds most impoverished countries, the 1962 coup détat, was followed by an economic scheme called the Burmese Way to Socialism, a plan to nationalise all industries, with the exception of agriculture. The catastrophic program turned Burma into one of the worlds most impoverished countries, Burmas admittance to least developed country status by the United Nations in 1987 highlighted its economic bankruptcy. After 1988, the regime retreated from totalitarian socialism and it permitted modest expansion of the private sector, allowed some foreign investment, and received much needed foreign exchange. The economy is rated in 2009 as the least free in Asia, all fundamental market institutions are suppressed
Economy of Burma
–
Sakura Tower in
Yangon
Economy of Burma
–
A private petrol station in the
Inle lake region, Myanmar.
47.
Economy of Burundi
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Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The mainstay of the Burundian economy is agriculture, accounting for 54% of GDP in 1997, agriculture supports more than 70% of the labour force, the majority of whom are subsistence farmers. Large numbers of displaced persons have been unable to produce their own food and are largely dependent on international humanitarian assistance. Burundi is a net importer, with food accounting for 17% of imports in 1997. Little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports, although potential wealth in petroleum, nickel, copper, and other natural resources is being explored, the uncertain security situation has prevented meaningful investor interest. Industrial development also is hampered by Burundis distance from the sea, lake Tanganyika remains an important trading point. The trade embargo, lifted in 1999, negatively impacted trade, since October 1993 the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has resulted in the death of perhaps 250,000 people and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply, Burundi is heavily dependent on bilateral and multilateral aid, with external debt totalling $1.247 billion in 1997. IMF structural adjustment programs in Burundi were suspended following the outbreak of the crisis in 1993, the World Bank has identified key areas for potential growth, including the productivity of traditional crops and the introduction of new exports, light manufactures, industrial mining, and services. Other serious problems include the role in the economy, the question of governmental transparency. To protest the 1996 coup by President Pierre Buyoya, neighbouring countries imposed an embargo on Burundi. Although the embargo was never ratified by the United Nations Security Council. Following the coup, the United States also suspended all but humanitarian aid to Burundi, the regional embargo was lifted on January 23,1999, based on progress by the government in advancing national reconciliation through the Burundi peace process. In 2014, the size for a farm was about one acre. FP added that The consequence is remarkable scarcity, In the 2013 Global Hunger Index, Burundi had the severest hunger, economy of Burundi at DMOZ Burundi latest trade data on ITC Trade Map
Economy of Burundi
–
Fisherman on Lake Tanganyika
Economy of Burundi
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Goat rearing has been promoted as a source of income for rural-dwelling Burundians.
48.
Economy of Cambodia
–
The economy of Cambodia at present follows an open market system and has seen rapid economic progress in the last decade. Cambodia had a GDP of $13 billion in 2012, per capita income, although rapidly increasing, is low compared with most neighboring countries. Cambodias two largest industries are textiles and tourism, while agricultural activities remain the source of income for many Cambodians living in rural areas. The service sector is concentrated on trading activities and catering-related services. Recently, Cambodia has reported that oil and natural gas reserves have been found off-shore, in 1995, with a GDP of $2.92 billion the government transformed the countrys economic system from a planned economy to its present market-driven system. Following those changes, growth was estimated at a value of 7% while inflation dropped from 26% in 1994 to only 6% in 1995, imports increased due to the influx of foreign aid, and exports, particularly from the countrys garment industry, also increased. After four years of improving performance, Cambodias economy slowed in 1997-98 due to the regional economic crisis, civil unrest. Foreign investments declined during this period, also, in 1998 the main harvest was hit by drought. But in 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms. Currently, Cambodias foreign policy focuses on establishing friendly borders with its neighbors, nonetheless, Cambodia continues to attract investors because of its low wages, plentiful labor, proximity to Asian raw materials, and favorable tax treatment. In line with the reformation, private property rights were introduced and state-owned enterprises were privatized. Cambodia also focused on integrating itself into regional and international economic blocs, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations and the World Trade Organization respectively. These policies triggered a growth in the economy, with its national GDP growing at an average of 6. 1% before a period of domestic unrest and regional economic instability in 1997. However, conditions improved and since 1999, the Cambodian economy has continued to grow at a pace of approximately 6-8% per annum. In 2007, Cambodias gross domestic product grew by an estimated 18. 6%, Garment exports rose by almost 8%, while tourist arrivals increased by nearly 35%. With exports decreasing, the 2007 GDP growth was largely by consumption. Foreign direct investment inflows reached US$600 million, slightly more than what the country received in official aid, domestic investment, driven largely by the private sector, accounted for 23.4 percent of GDP. Export growth, especially to the US, began to slow in late 2007 accompanied by stiffer competition from Vietnam, US companies were the fifth largest investors in Cambodia, with more than $1.2 billion in investments over the period 1997-2007
Economy of Cambodia
–
Aerial view of
Phnom Penh
Economy of Cambodia
–
A garment factory worker in Cambodia undertaking health precautions
Economy of Cambodia
–
Cambodians planting rice, 2004.
Economy of Cambodia
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Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
49.
Economy of Cameroon
–
For a quarter of a century following independence, Cameroon was one of the most prosperous countries in Africa. Real per capita GDP fell by more than 60% from 1986 to 1994, the current account and fiscal deficits widened, and foreign debt grew. Yet because of its oil reserves and favorable conditions, Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a chart of trend of gross product of Cameroon at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Central African CFA Francs. The government embarked upon a series of reform programs supported by the World Bank. Many of these measures have been painful, the government slashed civil service salaries by 65% in 1993, the CFA franc — the common currency of Cameroon and 13 other African states — was devalued by 50% in January 1994. The government failed to meet the conditions of the first four IMF programs, as of March 1998, Cameroons fifth IMF program — a 3-year enhanced structural adjustment program approved in August 1997 — is on track. Cameroon has rescheduled its Paris Club debt at favorable terms, GDP has grown by about 5% a year beginning in 1995. There is cautious optimism that Cameroon is emerging from its period of economic hardship. France is Cameroons main trading partner and source of private investment, Cameroon has an investment guaranty agreement and a bilateral accord with the United States. USA investment in Cameroon is about $1 million, most of it in the oil sector, inflation has been brought back under control. Cameroon aims at becoming emerging by 2035, cameroon’s financial system is the largest in the CEMAC region. Access to financial services is limited, particularly for SMEs, as of 2006, bank loans to SMEs hardly reached 15 percent of total outstanding loans. Less than 5 percent of Cameroonians have access to a bank account, while the microfinance sector is consequently becoming increasingly important, its development is hampered by a loose regulatory and supervisory framework for microfinance institutions. The banking sector is concentrated and dominated by foreign commercial banks. 6 out of the 11 largest commercial banks are foreign-owned, while foreign banks generally display good solvency ratios, small domestic banks are in a much weaker position. Their capitalization is well below the average of banks in the CEMAC region and their profits are close to 2 percent, Cameroon Transport in Cameroon Economy of Cameroon at DMOZ Cameroon latest trade data on ITC Trade Map World Bank Summary Trade Statistics Cameroon
Economy of Cameroon
–
Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon
50.
Economy of Canada
–
Canada has the 10th or 15th-largest economy in the world, is one of the worlds wealthiest nations, and is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and Group of Seven. As with other developed nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canadas most important. Canada also has a manufacturing sector, based in Central Canada, with the automobile industry. With a long coastline, Canada has the 8th largest commercial fishing, Canada is one of the global leaders of the entertainment software industry. With the exception of a few big island nations in the Caribbean, as a result, Canada has developed its own social and political institutions, distinct from most other countries in the world. Though the Canadian economy is closely integrated with the American economy, the Canadian economic system generally combines elements of private enterprise and public enterprise. Many aspects of enterprise, most notably the development of an extensive social welfare system to redress social. Canada has a private to public property ratio of 60,40, today Canada closely resembles the U. S. in its market-oriented economic system and pattern of production. As of February 2013, Canadas national unemployment rate stood at 7. 0%, in May 2010, provincial unemployment rates varied from a low of 5. 0% in Saskatchewan to a high of 13. 8% in Newfoundland and Labrador. According to the Forbes Global 2000 list of the worlds largest companies in 2008, Canada has 69 companies in the list, International trade makes up a large part of the Canadian economy, particularly of its natural resources. In 2009, agriculture, energy, forestry and mining accounted for about 58% of Canadas total exports. Machinery, equipment, automotive products and other manufactures accounted for a further 38% of exports in 2009, in 2009, exports accounted for approximately 30% of Canadas GDP. The United States is by far its largest trading partner, accounting for about 73% of exports, Canadas combined exports and imports ranked 8th among all nations in 2006. Approximately 4% of Canadians are directly employed in primary resource fields and they are still paramount in many parts of the country. Many, if not most, towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, several of Canadas largest companies are based in natural resource industries, such as EnCana, Cameco, Goldcorp, and Barrick Gold. The vast majority of products are exported, mainly to the United States. There are also secondary and service industries that are directly linked to primary ones. For instance one of Canadas largest manufacturing industries is the pulp and paper sector, the reliance on natural resources has several effects on the Canadian economy and Canadian society
Economy of Canada
–
Toronto, the financial centre of Canada
Economy of Canada
Economy of Canada
–
The
Toronto-Dominion Centre in Toronto
Economy of Canada
–
Bombardier Aerospace is the 3rd largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft in the world. Pictured here is a
CRJ-900 airplane of
Scandinavian Airlines (OY-KFA) built in Canada
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