This thesis aims to contribute to global value chain studies by examining an empirical case of vietnamese apparel firms in Swedish clothing value chains with a focus on insertion and upgrading issues . we apply mixed method of  both qualitative and quantitative tools from a holistic approach researching from both vietnamese suppliers and Swedish buyers perspective. Our findings show some progressive improvements of Vietnamese suppliers in GVC especially of private sector. In swedish value chain trust and long term cooperative business realtions for mutual benefits are among the key points for insertion and ugrading. On Vietnamese suppliers side, lack of information serves as the main reson for their reluctance in approaching Swedish market . Willingness to listen to buyer's advice or suggestions and management strategic Vision of development are critical for upgrading sucess of suppliers.

This research examines guanxi's influence on attitudes of the Chinese negotiators during international joint venture negotiations by applying the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). / Before establishing international joint ventures, foreign and Chinese investors go through series of negotiations to settle or resolve any disagreements. However, the unique Chinese culture and the business environment in the transitional China often impose problems on these cross-cultural negotiations. To cope with these difficulties, foreign investors often use “guanxi” as a negotiation strategy to influence the attitude of the Chinese negotiators. / Guanxi is a cultural element inherent in the Confucian ideology. Being a collectivistic, high-contextual and hierarchical society, China places strong emphasis on guanxi between individuals which does not only represent the identification of individuals but is often used as a means to accomplish tasks. This makes guanxi a powerful tool to overcome many cultural and environmental problems. / By applying the influence of guanxi on the attitude of Chinese negotiators to the Elaboration Likelihood Model in this research, it is proposed that guanxi can motivate Chinese negotiators to think and influence the attitude of the Chinese negotiators under high and low elaboration. Under high elaboration, the attitude change is more predictive, stable, enduring and permanent while attitude change under low elaboration is less predictive, vulnerable, susceptible to counter-persuasion and temporary. / The research adopted the quantitative paradigm using hypothesis testing. A survey was carried out with one hundred and fifty-two questionnaires distributed by the snowball sampling technique. Eighty-three completed questionnaires were returned, accounting for 54.6% response rate. Frequency tables were used to analyse the distribution of the results. Chi-square tests were employed to test the representativeness of the samples to the population and the association between variables. / The results indicate that foreign investors' guanxi with the Chinese investors (GFC), the government (GFG) and other businesses (GFO) can motivate the Chinese negotiators to think (MOT) and influence the attitude of the Chinese negotiators to think (MOT) and influence the attitude of the Chinese negotiators under high (VAL) and low elaboration (ATT). GFC can influence VAL because the investors are bound by insider relationships and reciprocal obligations and influence ATT because it implies renqing between the investors. GFG can influence VAL because the government can update the investors with political changes and influence ATT because Chinese show high respect for the government. GFO can influence VAL because the Chinese investors value highly the relationship with the suppliers to secure necessary inputs for production and allow flexible credit payment. GFO can also influence ATT because it implies social validation of trustworthiness of the foreign investors. / This research has significant contributions to the area of study of the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the influences of guanxi on attitude of negotiators and practical suggestions to the Chinese and foreign negotiators who intend to form international joint ventures in China. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2006.

The application of anti-dumping and countervailing measures has always been controversial, particularly, as they do not address the issue of the level of local value added in the production process. Are these measures simply industry assistance measures under another guise, or are they to protect the 'fair trade' framework to further the opportunity for free trade? All the indications are that these measures reflect the former option. However, the global political climate as represented through the GATT and now the WTO Agreements is to tolerate the imposition of both anti-dumping and countervailing measures provided they are applied according to the provisions of the Agreements. It is becoming increasingly more difficult for any nation state to abolish the right of their 'guest' industries to obtain anti-dumping or countervailing relief, given the economic power of multinational industries operating within their boundaries. The practical issue is for each nation state to use these measures in a way which is of least detriment to their economy. Gruen in 1986 reviewed the application of the then Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping) Act 1975, and found that there needed to be a tightening-up of the injury test applied to anti-dumping cases. It is recommended that Gruen's tougher injury standards be implemented forthwith. He also recommended a continuing role for the Industry Commission as the appeal body for a review of the facts, and for there to be a continuing assessment of the effects of the measures imposed. The government, however, created an Anti-Dumping Authority attached to the then Department of Industry Technology and Commerce (DITAC), whose member and officers came from that department. The principal function of this body was to review the preliminary decisions of Customs, and to recommend the imposition of duties or acceptance of an undertaking to the Minister. There was no provision for an independent review of facts. One of the results of the increased complexity of the existing process and consequently the law, is a large increase in litigation before the Federal Court. There is a need to simplify the administrative structure and the provisions of the domestic law. The latter should be accomplished by the incorporation of the provisions of the WTO Agreements directly into domestic law. The espoused policy objectives of the government have not been met. The application of anti-dumping and countervailing measures favour import competing industries, and are against countries from which imports are growing. Korea and China have been singled out, with these countries showing the highest incidence of import weighted of anti-dumping measures. They also happen to be countries with which Australia has a trade surplus, a policy factor which is neglected by the administering authorities. There is a need to redress this imbalance. Predation identified by the government as a reason for taking anti-dumping action, has been shown not to be a reason for the application of anti-dumping duties in Australia. As a small country, Australia should take advantage of the use of the WTO dispute settlement process in settling anti-dumping and countervailing disputes. Consultations should commence at the earliest possible stage in inquiries, with the view to the settlement of the dispute by trade negotiation so that the outcome can be beneficial to both parties. This may, for example, allow for the specialisation in production between the two Members. WTO dispute settlement is seen as a positive approach to dispute settlement, whereas the use of the domestic courts tends to elevate the dispute between the parties. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade needs to take a leadership role in settling all anti-dumping and countervailing actions through the WTO dispute settlement process, with a view to a positive outcome for both Members. Placing an anti-dumping import tax on intermediate products entering Australia is counter-productive, as it increases the cost of inputs to downstream users. Temporary relief should be given by way of production subsidy, if the matter cannot be resolved through WTO trade consultations.

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Over the last two decades there has been a tremendous increase in collaboration among competing firms. A significant number of these collaborations are international. This thesis explores the incentives and welfare consequences of collaboration in the context of international trade. We consider two types of cross-border collaborations. The first is collaboration by sharing a part of firms' value creating activities, such as technology development, product design and distribution. This saves on production costs but reduces product distinctiveness. Firms collaborate if and only if the reduction in product distinctiveness is lower than a threshold level. We find that the threshold increases with an increase in trade costs. That is, an increase in trade costs makes collaboration more likely. Higher trade cost lowers competition, which in turn enables the firms to save on fixed costs while forgoing some product distinctiveness. Furthermore, we demonstrate that contrary to standard intuition, higher trade cost could enhance consumers' welfare by inducing competitors to collaborate. We extend our model to endogenise location choice by the firms where collaboration requires co-location (due to the benefit of local spillovers or joint investment in key infrastructures). Unlike the original model, we find that an increase in trade costs can discourage collaboration. In both circumstances, we find that an increase in trade cost can improve consumer surplus. The second type of collaboration considered in this thesis is licensing. We extend the standard licensing literature to an environment where firms compete in the domestic as well as foreign market. We examine how trade cost affects the licensing decision as well as the optimal payment mechanism. We find that an increase in trade costs reduces the possibility of licensing. Concerning the payment mechanism, we find that (i) either royalty or (ii) a two-part tariff (involving a fixed fee as well as royalty payments) is optimal. An increase in trade costs reduces the likelihood of royalty only being the optimal payment mechanism.

This thesis examines the regulation of regionalism by the WTO and the formation and operation of regional trade agreements by developing countries. In particular, this work focuses on regional integration in Eastern and Southern Africa. The aim of the thesis is to assess the effectiveness of the relevant legal regimes and determine ways in which they can be made more effective, both in terms of their impact on state conduct and in terms of their impact on the economic welfare of the states concerned. The thesis argues that, with regard to the WTO legal regime, the exemption from the application of Article XXIV, GATT 1994 given to developing countries by the Enabling Clause has contributed to the lack of effectiveness of the WTO regime. For developing countries, on the other hand, the Enabling Clause has deprived them of the legal discipline required to establish effective free trade areas and customs unions. This latter argument is examined through a case study of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The thesis contends that for COMESA countries to engage in meaningful trade liberalisation, and to participate fully in the WTO, acceptance of greater legal discipline is critical. Such legal discipline can be obtained through compliance with Article XXIV.

The Sino-Australian wool trade relationship is the most significant in the international wool industry. China accounts for 65 per cent of Australia’s wool exports and Australian wool around 70 per cent of China’s imports. At the same time, it has also been one of the most contentious areas of Sino- Australian trade. There have been frequent disputes, protracted trade negotiations and numerous problems unsettling the smooth flow of product from Australian woolgrowers to Chinese wool textile mills. Despite a number of investigations and several bilateral and multilateral initiatives to improve trade protocols, in particular associated with China’s accession in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, many of these longstanding problems remain unresolved. A range of different methods are employed by China-located early-stage wool processors (ESWPs) to obtain their raw wool requirements. This research applies transaction cost analysis to examine the extent to which different raw material purchasing channels have changed (and are changing) over time. The research aims both to elucidate how China-located ESWPs govern the wool procurement transaction and to investigate the interaction of socio-economic (asset specificity, frequency, uncertainty) and transactional cost factors (information, negotiation and monitoring costs) influencing the decision-making of the ESWPs. This research is unique in that it has been conducted by a wool industry “insider” who speaks Mandarin and who has applied the Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) from the perspective of the Chinese management of the ESWP firm in order to identify possible improvements. Transaction Cost Analysis seeks to analyse the “make or buy decision” or in this case the degrees of backwards vertical integration into the Australian wool marketing system by China’s ESWPs. The “make or buy” decision has become a theoretical reality since China’s WTO accession — an institutional change that allows more vertical coordination and the potential for improved fibre selection in Australia’s wool market. Understanding these structures can provide considerable insight into how the Australian wool supply chain (particularly fibre selection and soft attribute differentiation) can be improved to the benefit of stakeholders. This is especially important from the viewpoint of improving the quality of China’s intermediate wool processing — a vital stage where any mistakes in fibre selection cannot be undone and are expensive, often only “discovered” much later at garment or fabric delivery stage. Being a natural fibre destined for the high-end apparel market, quality with consistency is always a challenge for wool, “the fibre”, in the modern textile landscape. The research finds that although the conditions exist for vertical coordination, a hierarchy structure has v only been employed by foreign processors that had pre-existent raw material infrastructure in Australia. Most Australian wool imports still enter China through intermediaries without sufficient completeness of the contract, mainly owing to the uniquely “Chinese” method of price and quality risk management. Two large privately owned Chinese processors have vertically integrated for some of their raw material needs but also use intermediaries to avoid over dependency. The fact that China has still not completely fulfilled WTO entry requirements, specifically in regards to Tariff Rate Quota administration, also contributes to state intermediary participation and sovereign risk issues that periodically destabilise Australian wool markets. Institutional reforms have had little impact on wool quality, and significant improvements in terms of outcomes for both processors and woolgrowers would only be possible by further integration of Chinese processors into Australia’s wool marketing system.

Malone, Yates & Benjamin (1987) made predictions about the impact of information technology and systems on the organisation of firms and markets based on transaction cost effects discussed earlier by Coase (1937) and Williamson (1975). Evans and Wurster (1999, 2000) examined these ideas in terms of “richness and reach”. Berger, Hancock & Marquardt (1996) proposed a framework for analysing efficiency, risks, costs and innovations in the payments system. In this, they called for additional research into risks and costs in various aspects of the international payments systems and offered a framework for such an examination. This dissertation examines these and other authors’ work from the literature, follows the development of actual systems newly implemented for international trade finance, and considers the impacts of electronic commerce on the field of international trade finance, in particular its effect on the costs and risks involved. This question is important because the burden of paper-based documentation that controls international trade is approximately 6% of $USD7.5 trillion per year. If efficiencies, even small ones, can be gained in this overhead cost, at an acceptable level of risk, then a substantial saving in real dollar terms can be achieved each year, improving the efficiency of world trade and easing the burden on both suppliers and consumers worldwide. The research questions are examined by means of a three round Delphi survey (three iterations of questionnaires with analysis and feedback between rounds) of a panel of experts drawn from international bankers, users of trade finance, and academic researchers into international trade finance and e-commerce. The survey first identifies the factors of greatest import and interest. It then digs deeper and seeks consensus on areas where there is divergent opinion, and finally seeks to critique a model based on the Berger, Hancock & Marquardt (1996) model. In the process the panel is able to estimate the approximate size of shifts in both costs and risks expected from the implementation of e-commerce methods. These are examined in light of the Malone Yates & Benjamin (1987) and Evans & Wurster (2000) theories and found to be consistent. This empirical confirmation of theoretical expectation, combined with estimates of the size of change are then used to make specific recommendations to various participants in the field of international trade finance so that they can reap the benefits of the transition in process.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Diss. Örebro : Örebro universitet, 2005.