Globalization and U.S. Trade Policy

This evening I attended a discussion on Globalization. It was called Globalization and U.S. Trade Policy, and was put on by Pi Sigma Alpha and the Department of Political Science. It was held at 7 PM in the auditorium in the Bell Memorial Union on the CSU Chico campus. The speaker, Donna Lee, was introduced by Professor Alan Gibson, who called her an "academic superstar of sorts." She has written and co-authored several books and articles, and has taught at prestigious universities.

Lee started off by explaining a little bit about the impact of globalization. She said that globalization is supposed to be creating a "borderless world." Businesses like McDonald’s and Starbucks can be found anywhere, and globalization is unstoppable. The argument is that the market can control the economy which eliminates the need of the state in that sector.

                                             McDonald's Reaches Africa

Lee made the argument, however, that trade is not global, but rather it is regional. 55.8% of North American trade is done with other N. American countries, 73% of European trade is done with other European countries, and the numbers are similar for Asian countries. Only Africa is different. 42% of African trade is done with European countries, 20% with N. American countries, 20% with Asian countries, and only 9% is done within itself. These regional trade markets are protected. In America, producers are subsidized which makes it harder for other markets such as the African one to compete. She used cotton as an example. Some of the west and central African countries are the most competitive cotton producers, yet in recent year their production has gone up while their export earnings have gone down. This occurs because the U.S. Farm Bill subsidizes U.S. cotton growers. If there was really a free market, African countries would benefit and 10 million African people would be brought out of poverty. Lee’s conclusion was that U.S. subsidies deprive African farmers of vital income. However, the markets will continue to be regionally based and protected. The poorest of Africa will get poorer. She claimed that the use of the word "globalization" is just a political tool, and that it doesn’t exist in trade markets.

I decided to go to this talk because I’ve heard the term "globalization" and this buzz-word, but am not very knowledgeable on it. I figured that this would help me to get a better idea of what it was and to better grasp the concept. I did enjoy Lee’s speech. I felt that her talk was a little hard for me to follow, but I felt that I grasped the general ideas that she was describing. I see her point and I agree that it would be very humane to stop subsidizing U.S. cotton farmers to help the extreme poor in Africa. However, what will that then do to the U.S. economy? So if I am grasping the situation correctly, then I can see how it would be a very controversial issue, and I believe it would be well worth it for me to learn more on this topic.