Today there are still problems that occur within the international negotiations for trade due to the trade barriers such as high tariffs on export goods. Such barriers and unfavorable rules greatly affect the trade for developing countries. The trade barriers prevent developing countries from trade integration with the developed countries. A country such as Brazil raises concerns about the multilateral, bilateral, and regional trade rules that are put forward by the EU.
On the other hand, India is concerned about the trade partner’s commitment to reduce the export subsidies and the domestic support. India maintains that the developing countries can only develop if the developed countries accept to eliminate the tariff peaks and the tariff escalations on their important sectors of the developing economies such as textiles, leather, and marine products. This is also a slow pace in the negotiations of addressing the issues related to the developing nations. The US also puts forward special rules against Brazil and India in reference to the intellectual property within the GATT.
Brazil argued that its rights on intellectual property were in accordance with the trade rules under GATT. Therefore, the United States had no right to impose rules in that regard. Brazil and India jointly chose to oppose any unilateral measures against the trade partners and urged the US to resist such actions since this would bring complications of trade within the area. Brazil also complained of the measures such as surveillance measures and deposits are required to acquire a trade license. Current issues on international trade are still focused on the issues that are related to the cuts on the tariffs and subsidies.
This is mainly focused on manufactured and agricultural goods. The United States and Europe are hoping to secure access to the emerging markets for their manufactured goods in exchange for cutting the subsidies and import duties that have affected the prices of agricultural goods such as wheat, cotton, and milk, which makes it hard for the poor farmers to sell. Brazil and India are seeking a way of protecting their industrial sectors from market competition.
Issues related to the rules of international trade are usually dictated in reference to the economic and political power of the major economies. The distribution of power raises the issues of the rules of power analysis. In these rules, it is stated that for us to decide on the order of power, then one should be very clear about the definitions of power. One should know the reasons why a country like the US has always been regarded as the most powerful state. Power is regarded as a source where the most powerful state is able to use its military and economic power to influence other states. The second rule of power analysis is to watch the goalposts. This refers to the ability of the unipolar state to solve all the international problems without the assistance of the other states.
There is always a gap between the material resources of a country and the goals it can achieve. Another rule of power analysis is not to rely on a single indicator. Countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China are expected to bring a lot of changes in power. Analysis indicates that future power analysis will be more directed to multipolarity rather than unipolarity. Factors that are involved in power analysis should include demographic changes, political challenges, GDP, among others. Rule four of the power analysis calls for the consideration of latent power. This has been directed to the US military forces, which are faced with budget and trade deficits. This situation questions the sustainability of unipolarity. The expenditure on the military by the government has also been significantly reduced. Future power will be more directed to multipolarity following the economic changes in different countries.