In the globalization era where many different countries closely cooperate in achieving manufacturing goals to satisfy the needs of their internal markets, the country’s economic efficiency is determined by its readiness for international cooperation. The transportation environment and global policies substantially contribute to the country’s successful participation in globalized trade. This essay will compare and contrast differences in the European and North American freight transportation systems, globalized trade, and global policy implications.
First, the practical organization of the transportation system within a country favors its economic growth by creating favorable trade conditions in domestic and foreign markets. According to Wiegmans et al. (2018), The freight transportation system in Europe is presented by dense road and rails infrastructure, accompanied by inland waterways. The authors’ study estimated that the most developed transporting infrastructure in Europe is the roads system which accounts for 75% of the freight operations. On the other hand, the distribution of population in the North America required an extensive transportation system. According to Wiegmans et al. (2018), the United States’ transportations system favors the use of trucks and railways. The road infrastructure accounts for nearly 45% of the freight operations, and railways are used for 30% of the freights in the United States (Wiegmans et al., 2018). Comparing the area of both regions and the population’s distribution patterns explains the differences in the transportations systems of the two regions. Therefore, the differences in geography contribute to the choice of the transportation systems and determine the speed of the local and global trade operations.
Next, comparing the level of the economic integration of North America and Europe in economic globalization will help identify the differences in European and North American trade structures. According to information provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2021), the United States’ overall level of participation in economic globalization is presented by an increased share of imports ($1,434.8 billion in 2020). On the other hand, the level of European integration in the globalized trade is inconsistent with some years noted by the prevalence of import share. However, in general, Europe’s role in the intranational trade is being the exporter of goods and services, while the North American region is playing the role of the importer.
Lastly, one of the factors that influence the development of globalized trade is legal spere and policies. According to Keane et al. (2021), the European trade policies employ the approach focused on an “open strategic autonomy”, implying that it follows global rules focusing on digital development and sustainability measures. As mentioned earlier, Europe does not follow a strict import and export shares pattern. Still, it focuses on the environmental aspect, as most transportation operations within the region use cars. Thus, European policy implications focus on ensuring environmental safety concerning the region’s geography and limited area. On the other hand, the American policies on globalized trade currently concentrate on solving the U.S – China trade relations and regulating tariffs to decrease China’s influence in global trade.
Thus, summarizing the dominant points addressed in the paper, several factors determine the region’s success in participating in globalized trade operations. Comparison and contrast of the global trade aspects in North America and Europe showed that the region’s geography and population’s distribution determine the transportations system. In its turn, the transportation system influences the effectiveness of local and international trade operations. The region’s characteristics also influence global trade concerns and the balance of import and export shares. I find that analyzing the influence of the freight transportation system on the region’s trade operations and structure could be an interesting topic for future research.