Title: 3.5 Reducing International Trade Barriers – Exploring Business
Headings: 3.5 Reducing International Trade Barriers
3.5 Reducing International Trade Barriers
Learning Objective
Trade Agreements and Organizations
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
World Trade Organization
Financial Support for Troubled Economies
The International Monetary Fund
The World Bank
Criticism of the IMF and the World Bank
Trading Blocs
North American Free Trade Association
The European Union
The Euro
Other Trading Blocs
Key Takeaways
Exercises
References

Content: if you possess an EU passport, you can work in any EU nation. The Euro
A key step toward unification occurred in 1999, when most (but not all) EU members agreed to abandon their own currencies and adopt a joint currency. The actual conversion occurred in 2002, when a common currency called the euro replaced the separate currencies of participating EU countries. The common currency facilitates trade and finance because exchange-rate differences no longer complicate transactions 1. Its proponents argued that the EU would not only unite economically and politically distinct countries but also create an economic power that could compete against the dominant players in the global marketplace. Individually, each European country has limited economic power, but as a group, they could be an economic superpower (European Commission, 2011). But, over time, the value of the euro has been questioned. Just as is true with the United States today, many of the “euro” countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Ireland in particular) have been financially irresponsible, piling up huge debts and experiencing high unemployment and problems in the housing market. But because these troubled countries share a common currency with the other “euro” countries, they are less able to correct their economic woes (NPR, 2011). Many economists fear that the financial crisis precipitated by these financially irresponsible countries threaten the very survival of the euro (Buiter, 2010).