International Trade: Rules of Origin

[Excerpt] Determining the country of origin of a product is important for properly assessing tariffs, enforcing trade remedies (such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties) or quantitative restrictions (tariff quotas), and statistical purposes. Other commercial trade policies are also linked with origin determinations, such as country of origin labeling and government procurement regulations. Rules of origin (ROO), used to determine the country of origin of merchandise entering the U.S. market, can be very simple, noncontroversial tools of international trade as long as all of the parts of a product are manufactured and assembled primarily in one country. However, when a finished product’s component parts originate in many countries, as is often the case in today’s global trading environment, determining origin can be a very complex, sometimes subjective, and time-consuming process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the agency responsible for determining country of origin using various ROO schemes. Non-preferential rules of origin are used to determine the origin of goods imported from countries with which the United States has most-favored-nation (MFN) status. They are the principal regulatory tools for accurate assessment of tariffs on imports, addressing country of origin labeling issues, qualifying goods for government procurement, and enforcing trade remedy actions and trade sanctions. Preferential rules are used to determine the eligibility of imported goods from certain U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) partners and certain developing country beneficiaries to receive duty-free or reduced tariff benefits under bilateral or regional FTAs, trade preference programs (such as the Generalized System of Preferences), and other special import programs. Preferential rules of origin are specific to each FTA, which means that they vary from agreement to agreement and preference to preference. This report deals with ROO in three parts. First, we describe in more detail the reasons that country of origin rules are important and briefly describe U.S. laws and methods that provide direction in making these determinations. Second, we discuss briefly some of the more controversial issues involving rules of origin, including the apparently subjective nature of some CBP origin determinations, and the effects of the global manufacturing process on ROO. Third, we conclude with some alternatives and options that Congress could consider that might assist in simplifying the process. This report will be updated as events warrant

International Trade: Rules of Origin

[Excerpt] Recent trade policy issues have pointed to the framework used by the United States and other countries to regulate imports, including the process of determining country of origin using “rules of origin” (ROO). Such rules can be very simple, noncontroversial tools of international trade as long as all of the parts of a product are manufactured and assembled primarily in one country. However, when a finished product’s component parts originate in many countries—as is often the case in today’s global trading environment—determining origin can be a very complex, sometimes subjective, and time-consuming process. This report first provides a general overview of the U.S. ROO system, including its implementation as it applies to manufactured imports. Second, advantages and disadvantages of the ROO schemes as implemented by the United States are also discussed. Third, the report illustrates ways in which the application of the rules of origin system can lead to country of origin determinations that could be inconsistent with U.S. policy objectives or goals, or encourage businesses to circumvent them. The report concludes with some options that Congress could consider in order to improve the ROO process

Country Spreads and Emerging Countries: Who Drives Whom?

A number of studies have stressed the role of movements in US interest rates and country spreads in driving business cycles in emerging market economies. At the same time, country spreads have been found to respond to changes in both the US interest rate and domestic conditions in emerging markets. These intricate interrelationships leave open a number of fundamental questions: Do country spreads drive business cycles in emerging countries or vice versa, or both? Do US interest rates affect emerging countries directly or primarily through their effect on country spreads? This paper addresses these and other related questions using a methodology that combines empirical and theoretical elements. The main findings of the paper are: (1) US interest rate shocks explain about 20 percent of movements in aggregate activity in emerging market economies at business-cycle frequency. (2) Country spread shocks explain about 12 percent of business-cycle movements in emerging economies. (3) About 60 percent of movements in country spreads are explained by country-spread shocks. (4) In response to an increase in US interest rates, country spreads first fall and then display a large, delayed overshooting; (5) US-interest-rate shocks affect domestic variables mostly through their effects on country spreads. (6) The fact that country spreads respond to business conditions in emerging economies significantly exacerbates aggregate volatility in these countries. (7) The US-interest-rate shocks and country-spread shocks identified in this paper are plausible in the sense that they imply similar business cycles in the context of an empirical VAR model as they do in the context of a theoretical dynamic general equilibrium model of an emerging market economy.

Context Matters: Evaluating the Influence of Patient Demographics and In-Patient Care Parameters on Breastfeeding Outcomes Associated with the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of the global Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) as an intervention to improve breastfeeding outcomes and to explore factors that are most supportive and predictive of exclusive breastfeeding. Design: Program evaluation of the BFHI using a retrospective pre and post implementation electronic health record chart review. Setting: A tertiary level hospital in WA. BFHI designation was achieved in November 2017. Participants: Patients with a low-risk pregnancy, who gave birth (vaginal or cesarean) to a healthy term infant in Quarter one of 2015 (N=145) and Quarter four of 2018 (N=131).Patient and infant must have been discharged home together. Methods: Descriptive statistics were generated to retrospectively describe a cohort of patients who gave birth in Quarter one of 2015, before BFHI implementation, and another retrospective cohort of patients who gave birth in Quarter four 2018, after BFHI implementation. Analysis of the differences between the groups were conducted to determine significant differences between the cohorts and explore the potential causative factors between selected BFHI variables and breastfeeding outcomes. Results: Exclusive breastfeeding rates did not increase from 2015 to 2018 after implementation of the BFHI. The contextual factors of low parity, vaginal birth, and shorter hospital stay were predictive of exclusive breastfeeding at discharge. Exposure to the midwifery model of care during inpatient postpartum recovery and being Caucasian were potentially predictive of exclusive breastfeeding at discharge. Conclusion: Increased rates of exclusive breastfeeding at discharge were not observed after the implementation of the BFHI at the study site. Variables that were predictive of higher rates of exclusive breastfeeding at discharge were: shorter length of hospital stay post-partum, lower parity, vaginal birth, having a CNM as care provider. Maternal age, race/ethnicity and insurance type did not influence rates of exclusive breastfeeding at discharge in statistically significant ways; however, Caucasian patients were most likely to breastfeed exclusively at discharge

What Is Grounded Theory Good For?

Grounded theory (GT) made its appearance in the social sciences in 1967 with publication of Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss’s The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Glaser and Strauss advocated for systematically discovering and interpreting empirical data to generate theory, in contrast to testing or verifying theory derived from a priori assumptions. In the intervening 50 years, GT has spread into a wide range of fields including journalism and mass communication. Variations of the method have been developed, and debate has ensued about its relation to positivism and constructivism as well as pragmatism and postmodernism and about its value for critical race theory, feminist theory, and indigenous and other critical methods and theories. When and how is it best used? Is it misunderstood or misused by some? Is it more than a method? We asked senior scholars with expertise in GT to reflect on these issues, beginning with Vivian Martin, coeditor with Astrid Gynnild of Grounded Theory: The Philosophy, Method, and Work of Barney Glaserpublished by BrownWalker Press (2012). Martin, professor and chair of the Department of Journalism at Central Connecticut State University, argues the method has been misunderstood even by those who use it, often conflated with qualitative studies, with only two GT studies published in journalism and mass communication. It is practical and subversive, she observes, with the ability to develop new concepts and link ideas across disciplines. She advocates a closer adherence to Glaser’s original intentions for the method. Responding to Martin is Clifton Scott, associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Scott is the author of “Grounded Theory” in Encyclopedia of Communication Theory, edited by Steven Littlejohn and Sonja Foss published by SAGE (2009). While agreeing with Martin that the name often is misapplied, Scott argues for less preoccupation with policing the purity of the method in favor of developing multiple approaches appropriate to it as a methodology. Reacting to both Martin and Scott, Bonnie Brennen critiques the original GT approach as neglecting “methodological self-consciousness,” which would uncover researchers “theoretical assumptions, power relations, class positions and personal experiences.” Brennen, the Nieman Professor of Journalism in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, is the author of Qualitative Research Methods for Media Studies, second edition, published by Routledge in 2017. Finally, Meenakshi Gigi Durham, responding to all three, expresses optimism about GT’s potential to spur new inquiry through exploration of social life, while she proposes that, like all theory, it be seen as necessarily dynamic and evolutionary. Durham is a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is the editor with Douglas M. Kellner of Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, second edition, published by Blackwell (2011). Lana Rakow, Associate Editor Louisa Ha, Edito

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMPERIALISM AND FOOD INSECURITY IN AFRICA WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON NIGERIA

Many African states have recently, hurriedly put together a number of measures aimed at cushioning the effects of the global food crisis. Most of these programs have been implemented in different forms since the era of independence and have had no significant impact on food and agricultural development. In this paper we used the historical materialism approach to critically evaluate Africa’s food crisis genesis. Our thesis, using the Nigerian, experiences is that Africa’s contact with metropolitan capital set the continent on the path to dependent economic and political development. The state structures in Africa emphasize economic programs which respond to Europe’s economic needs to the detriment of internal agricultural capacity building. To redress the situation, we have recommended an end to imperialism and capacity building among African peasants.Capital, Development, Poverty and Political

The LAB@FUTURE Project - Moving Towards the Future of E-Learning

This paper presents Lab@Future, an advanced e-learning platform that uses novel Information and Communication Technologies to support and expand laboratory teaching practices. For this purpose, Lab@Future uses real and computer-generated objects that are interfaced using mechatronic systems, augmented reality, mobile technologies and 3D multi user environments. The main aim is to develop and demonstrate technological support for practical experiments in the following focused subjects namely: Fluid Dynamics - Science subject in Germany, Geometry - Mathematics subject in Austria, History and Environmental Awareness – Arts and Humanities subjects in Greece and Slovenia. In order to pedagogically enhance the design and functional aspects of this e-learning technology, we are investigating the dialogical operationalisation of learning theories so as to leverage our understanding of teaching and learning practices in the targeted context of deployment

Recent Movements in Oregon Towards Conservation and Development of Natural Reseources

96 pagesIn studying the recent movements in this state towards conservation and development of natural resources, I was primarily interested in determining what has been accomplished, what methods were used, what the results are to date, and what should be done in the future. As a guide in organizing the scattered bits of data now available in each of the special fields concerned, I attempted to answer the following set of questions: 1.What is the relationship between conservation and development? 2.Why should they be parallel in any unified plan of action? 3.What are the causes and effects of conservation and development economically and culturally? 4.What basic resources are available in this state? Where? 5.Which resources are being improperly handled, neglected, or overlooked? 6.What forces, both human and natural, are wasting our resources? 7.What is the role of planning in the past, present, and future of Oregon? 8.What function should general education have? 9.What agencies have been or are taking part in both planning and active work? 10.What new methods could be practically applied? 11.What is the function of business in relation to conservation