IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fip/fedlwp/95250.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

On Terms of Trade, Offshoring Ties, and the Enforcement of Trade Agreements

Author

Listed:
  • Subhayu Bandyopadhyay
  • Arnab K. Basu
  • Nancy H. Chau
  • Devashish Mitra

Abstract

This paper unpacks the role of offshoring in the enforcement of trade agreements. In a two-country model of task offshoring, we show that by depressing demand and thus demand for embodied labor, own-tariff effects on factor content weighted terms of trade are: (i) negative in upstream countries, backfiring on upstream workers, and (ii) positive in downstream countries which render imported labor tasks even cheaper. This progression in own-tariff effects on terms of trade along the supply chain presents a novel challenge to the effectiveness of dispute settlement rules designed to nullify unwarranted terms of trade gains. The pros and cons of deep trade integration as a remedy, involving well-enforced labor standards both upstream and downstream as an integral part of trade agreements, are highlighted.

Suggested Citation

  • Subhayu Bandyopadhyay & Arnab K. Basu & Nancy H. Chau & Devashish Mitra, 2022. "On Terms of Trade, Offshoring Ties, and the Enforcement of Trade Agreements," Working Papers 2022-039, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, revised Apr 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlwp:95250
    DOI: 10.20955/wp.2022.039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://s3.amazonaws.com/real.stlouisfed.org/wp/2022/2022-039.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.20955/wp.2022.039?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Hummels & Jakob R. Munch & Chong Xiang, 2018. "Offshoring and Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 981-1028, September.
    2. Nancy H. Chau & Ravi Kanbur, 2006. "The Race to the Bottom, from the Bottom," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 73(290), pages 193-228, May.
    3. Anderson, Kym, 2002. "Peculiarities of retaliation in WTO dispute settlement," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(2), pages 123-134, July.
    4. Robert Z. Lawrence, 2003. "Crimes and Punishments?: Retaliation under the WTO," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 372, October.
    5. Subhayu Bandyopadhyay & Arnab K. Basu & Nancy H. Chau & Devashish Mitra, 2020. "Consequences Of Offshoring To Developing Nations: Labor‐Market Outcomes, Welfare, And Corrective Interventions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(1), pages 209-224, January.
    6. Sheng, Liugang & Yang, Dennis T., 2017. "Offshoring and Wage Inequality: Theory and Evidence from China," IZA Discussion Papers 10924, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Ann Harrison & Jason Scorse, 2022. "Multinationals and Anti-Sweatshop Activism," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 13, pages 291-317, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Gregory Mankiw, N. & Swagel, Phillip, 2006. "The politics and economics of offshore outsourcing," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 1027-1056, July.
    9. Olney, William W., 2013. "A race to the bottom? Employment protection and foreign direct investment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 191-203.
    10. Bakhshi, Samira & Kerr, William A., 2010. "Labour Standards as a Justification for Trade Barriers: Consumer Concerns, Protectionism and the Evidence," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, May.
    11. Harry G. Johnson, 1953. "Optimum Tariffs and Retaliation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 21(2), pages 142-153.
    12. Sébastien Miroudot & Rainer Lanz & Alexandros Ragoussis, 2009. "Trade in Intermediate Goods and Services," OECD Trade Policy Papers 93, OECD Publishing.
    13. Ariel Burstein & Jonathan Vogel, 2010. "Globalization, Technology, and the Skill Premium: A Quantitative Analysis," NBER Working Papers 16459, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Wilhelm Kohler, 2004. "The WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism: Battlefield or Cooperation? A Commentary on Fritz Breuss," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 317-336, December.
    15. Schwartz, Warren F & Sykes, Alan O, 2002. "The Economic Structure of Renegotiation and Dispute Resolution in the World Trade Organization," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(1), pages 179-204, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bandyopadhyay, Subhayu & Basu, Arnab K. & Chau, Nancy H. & Mitra, Devashish, 2022. "On Trade Policy Preference and Offshoring Ties," IZA Discussion Papers 15782, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Bandyopadhyay, Subhayu & Basu, Arnab K. & Chau, Nancy H. & Mitra, Devashish, 2021. "The Pro-Trade Bias of Offshoring," Working Papers 313773, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    3. Tadashi Ito, 2007. "NAFTA and productivity convergence between Mexico and the US," IHEID Working Papers 26-2007, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, revised 27 Nov 2007.
    4. Ichiro Araki, 2004. "Comment on Fritz Breuss "WTO Dispute Settlement: An Economic Analysis of Four EU--US Mini Trade Wars"," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 345-364, December.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:470016 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Daron Acemoglu & Gino Gancia & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2015. "Offshoring and Directed Technical Change," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 84-122, July.
    7. Drusilla K Brown & Alan V Deardorff & Robert M Stern, 2013. "Labor Standards and Human Rights: Implications for International Trade and Investment," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Zdenek Drabek & Petros Mavroidis (ed.), Regulation of Foreign Investment Challenges to International Harmonization, chapter 5, pages 153-195, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. C. Austin Davis & Jennifer P. Poole, . "Can multinational firms promote gender equality? The role of labour mobility," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    9. Simone Moriconi & Giovanni Peri & Dario Pozzoli, 2020. "The role of institutions and immigrant networks in firms’ offshoring decisions," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1745-1792, November.
    10. Yanan Li & Ravi Kanbur & Carl Lin, 2019. "Minimum Wage Competition between Local Governments in China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(12), pages 2479-2494, December.
    11. Chau, Nancy H. & Färe, Rolf, 2011. "Shadow pricing market access: A trade benefit function approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(4), pages 1631-1663, July.
    12. Trifković, Neda, 2017. "Spillover Effects of International Standards: Working Conditions in the Vietnamese SMEs," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 79-101.
    13. Bandyopadhyay, Subhayu & Basu, Arnab K. & Chau, Nancy H. & Mitra, Devashish, 2016. "Disentangling the Wage Impacts of Offshoring on a Developing Country: Theory and Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 9973, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Patrice Cassagnard & Tendai Espinosa, 2022. "From boycott to buycott: is activism from the North good for the South?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 158(4), pages 1107-1135, November.
    15. Keck, Alexander & Schropp, Simon, 2007. "Indisputably essential: The economics of dispute settlement institutions in trade agreements," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2007-02, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    16. Kyle Bagwell & Chad P. Bown & Robert W. Staiger, 2016. "Is the WTO Passé?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(4), pages 1125-1231, December.
    17. Patrice CASSAGNARD & Tendai ESPINOSA, 2019. "From Boycott to Buycott: Is Activism from the North Good for the South?," Working Papers 2019-2020_3, CATT - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, revised Dec 2019.
    18. Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, 2006. "Reciprocity and the hidden constitution of world trade," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 133-163, September.
    19. Patrice Cassagnard & Tendai Espinosa, 2019. "From Boycott to Buycott: Is Activism from the North Good for the South?," Working Papers hal-02623685, HAL.
    20. Staiger, Robert & Bagwell, Kyle & Bown, Chad, 2015. "Is the WTO Passé?," CEPR Discussion Papers 10672, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Elisa Navarra, 2022. "Stock Market Response to Firms’ Misconduct," Working Papers ECARES 2022-40, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    offshoring; dispute settlement reciprocity; labor standards;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • O24 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Trade Policy; Factor Movement; Foreign Exchange Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fip:fedlwp:95250. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Anna Oates (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/frbslus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.