Russian and Belgium's Trade Patterns

UBSIM – Summer 2013

GEO 333 – Bases of World Commerce

Assignment Instructions

Due: June 17, 2013 (In-Class)

For Two countries of your choice complete the Three following tasks:

1: Create an executive summary for each country (~2 pages/country) that describes its pattern of trade. These 2 page documents should include tables and figures that summarize the trading relationships of these countries. Information covered should include but is not limited to:

* What are the countries major imports/exports?

* What is the volume of each countries trade in different products?

* Who are each countries major trading partners?

* Trade Information Sources:

(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/courses/541/papers/sources.html)

2: Create an executive summary for each country (~2 page/country) that describes its current trade policies. Two good places to start this process are

* WTO Trade Policy Reviews Website:

(http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp_rep_e.htm#bycountry )

* Global Trade Alert:

(http://www.globaltradealert.org/)

* Don’t limit yourself to these sources. More refined information is usually available from national sources (e.g., government trade offices or agencies)

3: Using the information you gathered in 1 and 2, write a brief analysis (max 3 pages) of one trade policy or agreement for one of the two countries. Your analysis should include, but is not limited to,

* A discussion of the expected effects the policy will have on relevant groups within the country (e.g., producer/consumers of the product) and the government budget.

* If the policy is likely to impact groups in other countries (e.g., trading partners) this should also be discussed.

* You do not need to precisely quantify your analysis; a rich qualitative discussion of the impacts will be sufficient.

Formatting Instructions

For sections 1 and 2 of the assignment, there is no specific format that you need to follow. However...