globalEDGE Blog - Page 179

Economist Milton Friedman once said, "responsibility... generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to their basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom". Business ethics reflect the fundamental purposes of a company and are extremely important for multinational corporations, especially when trying to expand their brands into new countries and cultures. As globalization further expands, multinational corporations find that business integrity is perceived differently in different countries and often poses a challenge for business expansion.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect January 1, 1994, creating the foundation for economic growth and strengthening trade relations between Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Now in 2014, it has been over 20 years since NAFTA has been in place. To better understand the economic impacts of NAFTA, we have prepared a table showing trade statistics before and after NAFTA.

On February 19th, President Barack Obama flew to Mexico to meet with Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, approximately twenty years after the three nations had signed NAFTA. The goal of the Toluca summit was to attempt to reduce trade frictions and come to agreement on trade conflicts between these countries. Issues discussed included Obama's trade executive order, the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, the "trusted traveler" program, updating NAFTA, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Few things are more for the global economy than world trade. Ever since Adam Smith laid out the economics of comparative advantage in his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations, countries have understood the importance of specialization and trade. The importance of trade remains the same today - if not more important.

In his 2010 State of the Union address, United States President Barack Obama announced the US National Export Initiative to improve conditions affecting exporting in the private sector. Obama hoped to double exports by 2014. This would include working to remove trade barriers abroad, help firms and farmers enter new markets, and help with financing. Since the initiative was announced, over a million export-supported jobs have been created and exports have increased by over fifty percent. In 2012, US exports set a record reaching $2.2 trillion, which was 13.9% of overall GDP.

Have you visited the Business Review section of globalEDGE recently? If not, this would be a great time to start, as the second article in the 2014 Volume 8 edition has recently been released. What is the business review and what is its target audience you may ask? The globalEDGE Business Review is a collection of monthly comprehensive articles that focuses on major international business matters. The review examines a topic question and pieces together international research that includes a breakdown of background information, introduction of the topic issues, analysis of different characteristics in business operations, and offering strategic solutions in an abridged fashion. The review also includes helpful aids such as graphs and data tables that help visualize and support key points. Based on professional and highly acclaimed international research, feature topics target business executives with the purpose of identifying key areas of development, whether marginal or major, that can have a positive effect on business operations.

A big topic in business today is the evolution of the new digital world. It is vital to businesses that want to continue being successful to recognize and adapt to the new trends. Companies will either take flight in the new age or dwindle and faze out. This holds true for nearly every industry as global business has become technologically advanced.

Corporate style management is set to replace the current bureaucratic system of the Holy See in the near future. On the 24th of February, the Pope announced in a public statement that he is planning to make changes to its financial system by centralizing budgetary and administrative functions. As the first economic overhaul to the Vatican in over 25 years, it was decided that the Holy See will begin to operate with a system of corporate governance.

Peru is currently the third-largest producer of copper and the sixth-largest producer of gold in the world.  Peru’s mining industry is booming and government officials expect copper production to double by 2015.  Because of this projected growth, it is no surprise that Peruvian officials and business executives are visiting cities like New York City to attract foreign investments.  Forecasts indicate that by 2015, investment in the mining sector will make up close to 50% of total investments in Peru.

When naming the most innovative place in the world, Silicon Valley of the United States is usually everyone’s first response. However, that might not hold true in Europe. The tech-savvy country of Estonia is proving to be an important focal point for entrepreneurship and innovation. Right on the edge of Europe, Estonia has a total population of just 1.3 million. Estonia may be considered an extremely small country, but in terms of technology and innovation, it’s a giant.