Unit 9: Trade (1)

Textile groups hope trade deal will guarantee future

Few countries rely on their textiles industry
1
morethan
Honduras. The original 'Banana Republic', it is one of the
poorest countries in the Americas, with an average per
capita
2
income of about $800 ( 660, 435) per year. But in
the last decade
3
, imaginative government incentives
4
have
combined with clever exploitation of trade concessions
5

and theinternational quota systemto create a large group of
textile companies.
There are many industrial parks
6
around San Pedro Sula,
the economic capital. They were set up under the
maquiladora model
7
, first used in Mexico, where by
foreign suppliers could import components duty-free, for
subsequent
8
untaxed re-export. Apart fromcheap labour,
Honduras offered a generous tax package - no income tax,
value-added tax
9
or duties to bepaid.

It also offered a relatively
10
stable political background,
unlike its neighbours El Salvador, Guatemala and
Nicaragua, which all suffered fromcivil wars
11
during the
1980s. It could also offer convenience. A good highway
allows access in barely 30 minutes to Puerto Corts, Central
America's biggest port, which was developed to transport
pineapples and bananas. Fromhere, it is hours to Miami.
International labour rights groups complain there are
barries to union recognition, to which Honduran officials
reply that the sector's average wage of about $3,500 per
year is more than four times thenational average. The
'value added' by plants covered by the maquiladora scheme
reached 6.5 percent of Honduran gross domestic product in
2003.
The sector employs 114,000 people, or 30 percent of the
country's total formal industrial employment. The problem
is the ending later this year of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement
governing
12
world quotas. Employment has stayed steady
during the first three phases
13
of the lifting of quotas.
However, about 80 percent of Honduran garment
production
14
is simple products such as T-shirts, which are
hardest to protect against low- cost producers, while 20
percent of the industry's employment comes fromAsian
companies who first located there because of the quotas.
Honduras's response is the Central American FreeTrade
Agreement (Cafta), initialled
15
by the US and five Central
American countries this year. However, it faces what could
be difficult progress through the US Congress. Further, the
maquiladora concept is changing. Ninecompanies,
accounting for 20 percent of employment in the sector, now
produce their own materials, rather than buying themin.
For example, Elcatex, a Honduran-owned textile producer
in San Pegro Sula, manufactures textiles and uses
computer-aided design to cut the cloth - before sending it to
be stitched into shirts for brands such as J ockey, Ralph
Lauren and Nautica, at a factory five minutes away.
Financial Times
Cc tp on dt may hy vng cc tha thun thng mi s
m bo cho tng lai
Rt t nc da nhiu vo ngnh cng nghip dt may
1
nh
Honduras. Bt ngun t nc 'Banana cng ha', n l mt trong
nhng nc ngho nht Chu M, vi mc thu nhp bnh
qun u ngi
2
khong $ 800 (660, 435) mi nm. Nhng
trong mt thp k
3
qua, nhng chnh sch khuyn khch
4
v
cng mi m ca Chnh ph kt hp vi vic khai thc kho
lo s nhng b thng mi
5
v h thng hn ngch quc t
hnh thnh rt nhiu cng ty dt may.
C rt nhiu khu cng nghip
6
xung quanh San Pedro Sula,
trung tmkinh t ca Honduras. Chng c thit lp theo m
hnh tm nhp ti xut min thu
7
ni m cc nh cung cp
nc ngoi c th nhp khu cc thnh phn c min thu, v
cho ti xut khu min thu sn phmsau
8
. M hnh ny ln
u tin xut hin M-hi-c. Ngoi nhn cng gi r,
Honduras cn a ra mt chnh sch thu rt u i - khng c
thu thu nhp hay thu gi tr gia tng
9
hoc c hon thu.
Honduras cng c mt nn chnh tr tng i
10
n nh, khng
ging nh nc lng ging El Salvador, Guatemala v
Nicaragua, nhng nc phi hng chu nhng cuc ni chin
11

trong sut nhng nm 1980. N cng mang n rt nhiu thun
tin khc. Mt con ng quc l tt gip ch mt 30 pht l ti
c Puerto Corts, cng ln nht Trung M, ni c pht
trin chuyn ch da v chui. T y, mt vi gi n
Miami.
Cc nhmquyn li lao ng Quc t than phin rng c cc ro
cn i vi quyn cng on , m cc quan chc Honduran p
li rng lng trung bnh ca ngnh dt may l khong $ 3.500
mt nm, hn bn ln mc trung bnh quc gia. Li nhun gia
tng ca cc nh my c hng chnh sch tmnhp ti xut
min thu t ti 6,5 phn trm tng sn phmquc ni ca
Honduran trong nm 2003.
Ngnh dt may c 114.000 lao ng, chim30% tng s lao
ng chnh thc Honduras. Nhng vn l sau nm nay vic
chmdt Hip inh a si
(*)
s chi phi
12
hn ngch nhp khu
trn th gii. Vn vic lmvn duy tr n nh qua 3 giai
on
13
u ca qu trnh nng hn ngch. Tuy nhin, khong 80
phn trm sn lng hng may mc
14
ca Honduran l cc sn
phm n gin nh o thun, nhng sn phmrt kh bo v
chng li nhng nh sn xut gi r, trong khi 20 % ngi lao
ng ca ngnh dt may n t cc cng ty chu nhng ngi
n y u tin v c nhng hn ngch nhp khu.
Honduras thamgia vo Hip nh t do Trung M (Cafta) c
k kt
15
gia Hoa K v nm quc gia Trung M trong nm
nay. Tuy nhin, Hip nh vp phi qu trnh kh khn thng
qua Quc hi Hoa K. Ngoi ra, vn tmnhp ti xut min
thu ang thay i. Chn cng ty, chim20 % s lao ng lm
trong lnh vc ny, hin nay sn xut vt liu ring ca h, thay
v nhp khu chng. V d, Elcatex, mt doanh nghip nh nc
ca Honduras ti San Pegro Sula, sn xut hng dt may v s
dng cng c h tr thit k bng my tnh ct vi - trc khi
gi chng i c may thnh nhng chic o s mi cho cc
thng hiu nh: Jockey, Ralph Lauren v Nautica, ti mt nh
my cch ch 5 pht vn chuyn.
Unit 9: Trade (2)

Ton cu ha khng cn phi bin h- n cn c t cu
hi
imchnh trong s tranh lun v ton cu ha
1
l t do ha
thng mi
2
dn n s tng trng kinh t v tip l nng
cao cht lng cuc sng. Nhng ngi ng h ni rng da
vo mt chui tiu chun nh gi - s ngho i , tui th, sc
khe , gio dc- s ngi tr nn giu c mt cch nhanh chng
trong 60 nm qua nhiu hn bao gi ht. Tuy nhin, nhng
ngi phn i
3
ton cu ha th cho rng thnh cng ny c
nhng mt tiu cc ca n: l s pht trin thnh vng
5
kia
lmni rng khong cch giu ngho, t do ha thng mi
lmgia tng nhng iu kin lao ng t hi v vic lm
dng lao ng tr em, vic ni lng cho dng vn quc t t do
dn ti s khng n nh
5
v ti chnh v.v

Nhng ngi ng h nhit tnh cho ton cu ha qu gii trong
vic lit k nhng li ch ca ton cu ha trong khi l i ci
gi phi tr ca n. V iu m ti ang cp khng ch l s
lun chuyn cng vic t nhng nc pht trin ti nhng nc
kmpht trin hn hay s tn ph mi trng gy ra bi s
cng nghip ha
6
nhanh chng cc nc ang pht trin, m
l nhng nh hng mang tnh x hi v vn ha ca ton cu
ha.
Xt cho cng, vi nhng ngi ang sng nhng nc pht
trin nh chng ta, gn nh khng c mt lnh vc no m ton
cu ha cha nh hng ti. Theo mt kha cnh khc, v d
nh n gip ngi tiu dng c thmrt nhiu la chn:
Bristons gi y c th mua du ty quanh nm ti siu th a
phng , li chic xe Skoda c sn xut Sc, i giy th
thao sn xut VN v i du lch Trung Quc. Tuy nhin trong
khi quyn li ca khch hng c th tng ln th quyn li ca
ngi lao ng li gim i v ton cu ha lm tng s cnh
tranh v p lc cng vic, ng thi lm tng kh nng mt vic
lm.
V th, nhng g ti mun thy l mt s cn nhc
7
gia ci
c v ci mt ca ton cu ha quyt nh trn tng th
liu n lmcho th gii tt p hn hay ti t hn khng ch v
kinh t m m cn hng lot vn khc na. V kinh t, c th
bt u bng cch t cu hi liu ton cu ha c thc s tt
bi v n mang n hy vng cho hng triu ngi thot khi
cnh ngho, hay l iu khng tt bi v n ni rng khong
cch giu ngho. V cng cn phi t ra mt cu hi rng liu
kt qu ca s nng cao cht lng cuc sng qua thc y cng
nghip ha v tiu dng mc cao nht t trc ti gi c
to ra nhu cu qu ln
8
i vi ngun ti nguyn ca tri t.
Tuy nhin, c nhn ti thch c nhng bi phn tch ci c
v mt ca ton cu ha lin quan n nhng vn vn ha x
hi. Liu ton cu ha c thc s gip chng ta tip cn vi
ngh thut d dng hn hay chnh chng ta ang phi hng chu
mt li vn ha bnh dn
9
mang tnh ton cu, ci m c th
bn c mi ni ? Liu ton cu ha c th gip nhiu ngi
hn c tri nghimnhng bt ng v th v ca s a dng
vn ha hay n li ang san lp nhng khc khc bit v trn ln
vn ha quc gia, a phng vo vn ha ton cu m ch yu
l vn ha M? Liu cuc sng ca chng ta c th v khi hy
hoi
10
nhng truyn thng v cng ng ngi lu i hay
chng ta cng thmkhn kh
11
bi s mt mt bn sc vn ha
ring bit th lmnn cuc sng cn bn ca chnh chng ta?
Globalisation needs no defence-it needs to be questioned
Themain point of the globalisation
1
argument is that
trade liberalisation
2
drives economic growth and
economic growth raises living standards. Its supporters say
that on a wide range of measures-poverty, the age to which
people live, health, education- more people have become
richer at a faster pace in the past 60 years than ever before.
However, globalisation's opponents
3
would claimthat this
success has had its negative sides: that the increases in
prosperity
4
havefavoured the rich far more than thepoor,
that trade liberalisation has encouraged the growth of bad
working conditions and child labour, that lifting the barriers
to the free flow of international capital has increased
financial instability
5
, and so on.
Globalisation's enthusiasts are so good at cataloguing
globalisation's benefits whileignoring its costs. And I am
referring not just to the flight of jobs fromdeveloped
countries to less developed ones or the environmental
damage caused by the developing world's rapid
industrialisation
6
, but to globalisation's social and cultural
effects
After all, for thoseof us in thedeveloped world, there is
hardly a part of our lives that globalisation has not touched.
On the plus side, for example, it has greatly increased
consumer choice: Britons can now buy strawberries all year
round fromtheir local supermarket, drive a Czech-built
Skoda, wear trainers made in Vietnamand spend their
holidays in China. But while their power as consumers may
have grown, their power as employees has probably
diminished as globalisation has increased competition and
work pressures, and heightened job insecurity
What I would like to see, therefore, is an attempt to weigh
up
7
thecosts and benefits of globalisation to decide
whether, on balance, it is making the world a better place or
a worse one-not just economically, but across a range of
issues. Economically, it could start by asking whether
globalisation is a good thing because it offers the hopeof
lifting millions out of poverty, or whether it is a bad thing
because, as is often claimed,it is widening the gap between
rich and poor. It would also have to ask whether thedrive to
increaseliving standards through ever-greater levels of
industrialisation and consumption was making
unsustainable
8
demands on theearth's resources.
Personally, however, I would be more interested in reading
its cost/benefit analysis of the social and cultural questions.
Does globalisation, for example, increase our access to the
arts, or are we suffering froma global pop culture
9
easily
sold everywhere? Does globalisation enable more people to
experience thesurprises and pleasures of cultural diversity
or is it leading to the elimination of differences and the
mixing of national and local culutures into a global, mainly
American, stew? Are our lives made more interesting and
exciting by globalisation's destruction
10
of old traditions
and communities or are we made more miserable
11
by the
loss of the cultural individuality that gives structure to our
lives? Financial Times