Committee: Economic and Social Council

Agenda A: Alleviating poverty by means of creating productive employment and decent work for

all

. IntroductionⅠ

In our world where 70.1 percent of people hold only three percent of global wealth, poverty has

always been a challenge to the global community. While a minority of people live off of flourishing

assets providing needs to the level of excess, a majority of people lack money to afford the very basic

needs such as food, clothing, house, going to school, clinics, etc. In order to address the extreme

economic disparity, More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) and organizations, for years,

have provided appropriate amounts of foreign aid to poor countries to trigger their economic

development. However, recently, massive foreign aid has been accused of emphasizing big objectives,

ideal projects, top-down planning rather than thoughtful, bottom-up solutions tailored to the respective

local contexts, that could truly stimulate their national enterprise and allow for a self-functioning market

economy. In response, the importance of creating jobs that could improve real income and ensure

sustainable economic growth has risen to surface notably than ever before. The logic being that, decent

work puts money in the pockets of individuals and families that can spend in the local economy. Their

purchasing power can fuel the growth and development of national enterprises, both large and small,

which in turn may hire more workers, improve working conditions, and conclusively maintain a stable

local economy.

Hence, productive employment provides the key linkage between economic development and

poverty reduction. At the same time though, economic growth did not always bring about productive

employment and poverty reduction—a phenomenon currently apparent in advanced countries. In fact, the

ILO estimated that in 2012, over 300 million people in MEDCs were living in poverty, which has

provoked the problem of economic inequality within a single nation. Independent of the level of

economic advancement, creating productive employment and decent work for everyone, is seemingly

evasive for now, but has become a consensus that it will be an effective mean to assuage rampant

destitution and economic disparity.

. Definitions of Key Terms:Ⅱ

| Productive Employment:

Productive employment is defined as employment yielding sufficient returns to labor to permit the worker

and his or her dependents a level of consumption above the poverty line, the minimum level of income

deemed adequate in a particular country. A deficit of productive employment—those who are in the labor

force but do not have productive employment—faced by nations often takes the form of unemployment or

chronically working poor.

| Decent Work:

First mentioned in Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

according to the ILO, decent work involves opportunities for work that are productive and deliver a fair

income, security in the workplace, better prospects for personal development and social integration,

freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their

lives, and equality of opportunity for all women and men. In 2015, it has been included in the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development as Goal 8, which calls for the promotion of inclusive and

sustainable economic growth with employment and decent work for all.

| Informal Sector:

The informal sector, also known as the grey economy, is the part of an economy excluded from the

measurement of gross domestic product (GDP), that is neither taxed nor monitored by the government.

Usually prevalent in developing countries, they play a critical role in the economy by providing

opportunity, but on the other side, tend to be troublesome and unmanageable—often posing a hindrance

to further development towards an advanced economy. Jobs in the informal sector are characterized by

easy entry, irregular job hours, limited access to welfare protection and consists of people that are self-

employed, unpaid family laborers, street vendors. According to an ILO report, more than 61 percent of

the world’s employed population makes their living in the informal economy.

| International Labor Organization (ILO):

The ILO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, has taken a primary role in pursuing Sustainable

Development Goal 8 including promoting jobs and enterprise, guaranteeing rights at work, and extending

social protection, especially through its ILO Decent Work Agenda. The ILO organizes the International

Labor Conference every year where conventions are adopted and is a major provider of labor statistics,

such as labor production, employment, economic performance, labor cost, etc.

. Background Information:Ⅲ

Economic growth and poverty reduction was an ever-present goal of major organizations and

countries. As a solution, developing countries focused on eradication of idleness, encouragement of labor

through generating employment. However, today it has been largely recognized that there should be a

shift in focus from job creation to creation of decent jobs in which working environment, fair wages and

opportunities are ensured. This basis for the right to decent work was first officially mentioned in Article

23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right to work, to free choice of

employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.” Later, in

2006, following the High-level Plenary Meeting of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly, United

Nations had adopted a new target under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG): “Achieve full and

productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people,” which was later

enforced in 2008 when it was incorporated into the first MDG, “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.”

This was emphasized once more in the Sustainable Development Goals of 2015 as goal number eight,

with an effort to accumulate support on this very challenge.

Lack of productive employment is especially a trouble for less economically developed countries

(LEDCs) such as those in the African region due to a disproportionate amount of informal businesses

compared to a meager number comprising the formal sector. A large share of the workforce is employed

in and dependent on informal firms that are not legally registered with the government, primarily small,

household-run businesses. Thus, countries with a large portion of these informal firms struggle with low

aggregate productivity which inevitably leads to insufficient returns to laborers and augmented poverty.

To rescue the LEDCs from the “poverty trap,” there have been years of foreign aids. Unfortunately, they

have been ineffective in creating a stable, sustainable, independent enterprise.

Poverty is of no exception in developed countries as well, where it is still existent and concerned

by the government. These countries had adopted market liberalization, which believed that free and open

markets were the only vehicle for economic development which will lead to poverty reduction through a

trickle-down effect. However, market liberalization has not guaranteed the benefits to all people and

underestimated the role of government intervention in economic development. Thus, increasing

productive employment and decent work is crucial to raise income, consumption, and to ultimately foster

the economy in both MEDCs and LEDCs.

. Past Actions of the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations:Ⅳ

| ILO Decent Work Agenda

The International Labor Organization has put forth the Decent Work Agenda which has been regionally

implemented in developing countries and developed countries in the form of Decent Work Country

Program after it has been tailored to the specific needs of a country. This agenda includes four objectives,

one of which is creating jobs that generate opportunities for investment, entrepreneurship, and sustainable

livelihoods. Second is guaranteeing rights at work, which secures representation, participation, and good

laws that work in the interests of the disadvantaged workers. The third refers to extending social

protection so that men and women enjoy working conditions that are safe, allow adequate rest, reasonable

compensation, and take into account social values. Lastly, the agenda involves promoting dialogue and

conflict resolution that can help avoid disputes at work, understand negotiation, build cohesive and

peaceful working societies.

| The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth

This Global Youth Initiative was launched in 2016 under ILO lead, following the alliance of

governments, UN agencies, businesses, academic institutions, youth organizations, and other entities, to

tackle the youth employment crisis, their increased vulnerability, and their poor job conditions. As a

result, it assisted young people in developing skills that could help them compete in the job market by

means of strategies such as expanding regional and country level action that involves evidence-based

policies, providing knowledge platforms on decent jobs for youth that can promote sharing of knowledge

and experience through cooperation mechanisms, and funding resource mobilization. Furthermore, the

initiative helped to generate decent jobs for youth and assisted in their transition from school to work.

. Major Countries Involved:Ⅴ

| Zimbabwe

Currently in Zimbabwe, 78 percent of their people are living in absolute poverty and more than half of

Zimbabwe’s estimated 13.5 million people live under the food poverty line. An ILO report showed that

Africa had 85.8 percent of employment in the informal sector—the highest of all other continents. Among

those African countries, Zimbabwe has the second largest percentage of informal employment, rounding

up to 60.6 percent, according to IMF. Due to the lack of basic social protection in the informal sector with

low and unequal wages, long hours of work, poor working condition, and no bargaining power of

workers, decent work attainment is difficult. Therefore, it is pivotal to create quality jobs with high social

protection in Zimbabwe.

| Nigeria

The largest African country with an estimated population of 152 million people, Nigeria has the largest

consumer market in Africa that has the potential to facilitate enormous economic development. However,

after it has recorded impressive economic performance between 2003 and 2007, their GDP growth has

declined ever since up to a point of negative 1.5% in 2016 largely due to the crash in oil price in 2008 and

2014. Its economic drawbacks include over dependence on oil export, corruption, informal economy

accounting for 65% of GDP last year, the unemployment rate which has risen from 14.2% to 18.8% in

2017. Recognizing its economic fragility, the Nigerian Government has been collaborating with ILO to

meet ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, which is based on four strategic objectives—employment, social

protection, social dialogue, and rights of workers. As a result, in 2005, with the help of ILO, the Nigerian

government developed the first Decent Work Country Program (DWCP) for Nigeria. Its priorities were

creating jobs for women and youth and eliminating human trafficking and child labor. However, due to

the lack of clarification in documents, lack of monitoring and evaluation, miscommunication and

misunderstanding between partner firms and organizations, it could not achieve its guidelines. To prevent

the likelihood of similar problems, stakeholders were taken through a workshop on procedures of DWCP

, which was commenced shortly after DWCP ended in 2009. DWCP largely aligned with goals of Ⅱ Ⅰ Ⅱthe former program but was focused more on reducing the decent work deficits as well as mitigating the

impact of the global financial crisis.

| India

Over the past 25 years, India has procured rapid economic growth and dramatic decline in poverty,

despite the economic crisis of 2008. Employment has soared as well. However, as they’ve reached

accelerated levels of development, relatively slower growth than before, widening inequality,

employment limits have become apparent. According to the Center of Monitoring Indian Economy

(CMIE), after falling to a low of 3.4% in July 2017, the unemployment rate has steadily risen to 7.1% this

year, with around 31 million Indians seeking jobs. India also has over 360 million youth population—the

largest in the world—and in order to harness this demographic feature, India will need to generate 280

million jobs between now and 2050. Decent work will reduce inequality and unemployment and increase

resilience. Meanwhile, India has adopted the Decent Work Country Program, a five-year plan which

extended from 2012 to 2017, aiming to promote international labor standards and fundamental principles

at work, initiate policies for job-rich growth for women, youth, disadvantaged groups, building national

social protection and workplace compliance, enhancing labor administrations and social dialogue at

national and state levels.

| United States

United States, the world’s largest single donor country of 2015, has spent 18.25 billion dollars in

economic aid to 92 recipients in 2017, according to the Security Assistance Economic Aid, among which

25.32 percent were received by the Sub-Saharan African region alone. However, the majority of foreign

aid given to Africa consisted of food aid rather than assistance for a sustainable development that could

achieve poverty reduction. In recent years, Trump has announced and threatened recipient countries that it

would sharply cut its vast amount of foreign aid and prioritize the wellbeing of America, where the

census shows that 45 million, or 14.5 percent of all Americans, live on less than $11,490 for a person and

$23,550 for a family of four. These people live from paycheck to paycheck without adequate health,

education, housing, and social benefits. Meanwhile, United States was also highly involved in ILO’s

Decent Work Agenda.

| Luxembourg

Luxembourg is strongly engaged in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development, especially showing strong commitment to ILO mandates and providing voluntary

contributions to its programs. In 2016, Luxembourg signed a new Partnership Agreement with the ILO,

promising their support to development cooperation activities such as educating young people

entrepreneurial skills, enhancing social protection, providing vocational training, etc. Clearly,

Luxembourg has an ambitious development cooperation policy, which aims to eradicate poverty and to

achieve sustainable development in its partner countries like Africa. As Luxembourg is one of those

countries with the most available productive employment and decent work, it can serve as a model for

LEDCs.

. Future Outlook / Solutions:Ⅵ

As we all know, poverty is a main concern in the global world. In order to eradicate poverty, many

organizations and governments have come together to figure out solutions. There have also been years of

continuous foreign aid from international organizations and MEDCs to LEDCs. However, these LEDCs

still remain at the similar economic status as before, perhaps because of the clash between previous non

country-specific aids, and various cultural, religious, political aspects that are already deeply embedded

within their society. Excluding the possible cultural effects, a way to reduce poverty can be establishing a

sustainable enterprise in nations through creating productive employment and decent work. The possible

solutions for creating productive employment and decent work include:

Investing in education and training of citizens so that they could acquire the skills for productive

work and recognize their rights as workers

Focusing on enhancing the quality of existing jobs, rather than creating more jobs, in informal

sectors which is the main source of employment in developing countries

Transforming workers from the informal sector to the formal sector where there is a higher

chance for provision of decent work

Making of stronger, practical initiatives from organizations, based on each country’s economic

status and cultural, regional background

While most productive employment requires applicants to have some amount of basic skills to

perform the job, in the case of developing countries, a majority of citizens lack the skills needed to

accomplish the remunerative jobs. Therefore, training for the unemployed labor force, including youth,

should be provided by creating training bodies, reinvigorating apprentice systems if deemed appropriate,

or encouraging school enrollment for children living in these countries so that they could receive the

necessary education required in productive occupations. These methods can tackle the education and

skills mismatch in labor markets. Also, the newly trained potential entrepreneurs can start their own micro

businesses that can generate employment opportunities for others. Moreover, through higher education,

these people may gain rights-consciousness which could encourage the atmosphere of negotiation,

dialogue, and resolution of discrimination in workplaces.

Previously, and even up until today, various countries possess policies focused primarily on

escalating the number rather than the quality of jobs. Yet, in reality, jobs have been increasing in the

informal sector, a part of the economy excluded from the GDP measurement that tend to have poor

working conditions and welfare, long labor time, meager income, restricted communication between

employer and employee. A continuous increase in the informal sector will not open the door to poverty

reduction. Thus, informal firms should be improved through training their associates business practices or

other forms of education. Inputting specific dimensions of labor laws that help create a regulatory

environment, including enforcement of international labor standards and fundamental principles and

rights at work, which provides informal sectors with incentives and provokes their willingness to enhance

their working conditions is essential as well. Other than improving the informal firm itself, moving the

workers from informal firms to formal sectors can be another possible solution. Usually, young, highly

educated, urban workers tend to switch from informal jobs to formal jobs. These formal jobs guarantee

higher returns and stable systems.

Only in the past few years, has the importance of evidence-based, country-specific policies been

recognized. Before, programs initiated by organizations and governments had the characteristic of one-

size-fits-all approach, in which similar policies were implemented in various regions under the same

theme, regardless of their local context. Currently, the only country-specific program for increasing

decent jobs is the Decent Works Country Programs (DWCP). However, stronger and more effective

measures should be introduced to mitigate the grim prospects of job conditions. Ways to strengthen the

capacities of key stakeholders to improve implementation of policies and programs, strengthen

enforcement capacity, strengthen monitoring and evaluation systems, improve information and data on

the labor market, improve communication between partners, etc. should be considered in the process.

. ConclusionⅦ

Today, despite efforts of organizations and governments, economic impoverishment and disparity

have continued to exist in both developed and developing countries. Although there are multiple

respective causes to each country’s poverty and staggered development, a common observation is that

they all have more or less of unproductive employment and indecent jobs. Realizing unemployment and

the job crisis as a consequential issue, United Nations has incorporated it in the Sustainable Development

Goals of 2015 and were mainly attempted by the International Labor Organization. However, in

developing countries there are still enterprises dependent on foreign aid, a large portion of informal

sectors, and lack of education. Keeping these impediments in mind, the global community is expected to

devise methods to effectively create productive employment and decent work that can contribute to

worldwide poverty reduction.

Committee: Economic and Social Council

Agenda B: Regionalism and the World Trading System

I. Introduction

After experiencing the cruelty and selfishness of humans and governments through World War

II, most of the first world countries set policies in a cooperative way, which led to eliminating

protectionism through free trade policies. These policies were enforced by international

organizations such as the World Trade Organization, and conferences between the G20

countries. During the G20 meeting in London on 2nd April, 2009 pledged that they will not repeat

the historic mistakes of protectionism of previous eras. How this pledge is conducted is

monitored by the GTA (Global Trade Alert) that

provides commentaries to ensure that the G20

pledge is met.

Although these countries seemed to be

promoting free trade and reiterating the same

pledges they have already promised to do, the

reality isn’t this idealistic. According to a news

report from BBC, November, 2017 in

Washington, 17 of the G20 countries were

reported by the World Bank as having imposed trade restrictive measures. The World Bank says

most of the world’s major economies are resorting to protectionist measures as the global

economy is facing downturn.

In addition, certain policies of first world governments, such as the Common Agricultural Policy in the European Union, longstanding agricultural subsidies, and "Buy American" provisions in economic

recovery packages in the United States, have been criticized as protectionists.President Donald Trump announced in January 2017 the U.S. was abandoning the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) deal, saying, “We’re going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken everybody out of our country and taken companies out of our country, and it’s going to be reversed.”Moreover, recently, Wilbur Ross, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, announced that he would

impose 25 percent and 10 percent tariffs on imported steel from the European Union, Mexico,

and Canada. As a result, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would impose a $ 128

billion tariff on a wide range of products, including products made in the U.S. and some

agricultural products. Mexico has also declared a punitive tariff on American steel, pipes, fruits,

cheese products and pork. The EU is also planning to impose a multibillion-dollar retaliatory

tariff on U.S. imports. The European Union and Canada began the lawsuit process by requesting

the WTO to hold bilateral deliberations against high steel tariffs in the United States.

I.

II. Definitions of Key Terms:

| Protectionism:

Trade protectionism is defined as a group of nations working in conjunction as a trade bloc,

creating trade barriers with the specific goal of protecting its economy from the possible

threats of international trade. This is the opposite of free trade in which a government allows

its citizens to purchase goods and services from other countries or to sell their goods and

services to other markets without any governmental restrictions. The objective of trade

protectionism is to protect a nation’s vital economic interests such as its key industries,

commodities, and employment of workers. Free trade, however, encourages a higher level of

domestic consumption of goods and a more efficient use of resources. Free trade also seeks

to stimulate economic growth and wealth creation within a nation’s borders.

| National Security:

National security is used for trade protectionist policies since the industries involved include

defense-related companies, high-tech firms, and food producers. The argument here is that

industries such as aerospace, advanced electronics, and semi-conductors are vital components

of national defense policy and that relying on foreign manufacturers would seriously affect a

nation’s defense in time of war.

| Tariffs:

Tariffs are restrictions in international trade that demands a taxing duty on foreign imports.

Tariffs aim to protect the country’s own industries and raise tax revenues. Tariffs could be

specific in which there is a fixed tax rate or fee for each unit of a product or commodity

brought into a nation. There are also ad valorem tariffs which are set as a proportion of the

value of the imported product.

| Trade Agreements

(1) Unilateral Trade Agreement

Unilateral Trade Agreement occurs when a country imposes trade restrictions and no

other country reciprocates. A country can also unilaterally loosen trade restrictions,

which rarely happens since it would put the country at a competitive disadvantage. The

United States and other More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) engage in

unilateral trade agreements to foster the growth of certain foreign industries only on the

occasion that they are small enough not to be a threat their own economies. It helps the

emerging market's economy grow, creating new markets for U.S. exporters.

(2) Bilateral Trade Agreements

Bilateral trade agreements are trade agreements made between two countries. Both

countries agree to loosen trade restrictions to expand business opportunities between

them. They lower tariffs and confer preferred trade status with each other. The sticking

point usually centers at the key protected or subsidized domestic industries. For most

countries, these are in the automotive, oil or food production industries.

(3) Multilateral Trade Agreements

Multilateral Trade Agreements are among three countries or more. The greater the

number of participants, the more difficult the negotiations are. They are also more

complex, since each country has its own needs and requests. Multilateral trade

agreements can exercise a great power once they are settled. They cover a larger

geographic area, which confers a greater competitive advantage on the signatories.

III. Background Information:

The main protectionist of the global society, President Trump has made a big point on the

campaign trail about cutting the country’s trade deficits. He stated that trade deficit harms the US

manufacturing, and hence US will put more efforts to tackle them. The United States has a

massive deficit with other countries in the status quo, especially with China. Last year, it stood at

about $375 billion. This is the point where the United States government is putting a lot of effort

to fix it.

Hence the United States wants to cut

down this trade deficit, and tariffs are

the only method that President Trump

believes to be the effective solution.

Conversely, there are other opinions that, unlike Mr. Trump, trade deficits are not necessarily a bad thing. In recent decades, many MEDCs shifted from manufacturing economies to service economies. Increasing trade

deficits can be a sign of strong GDP and that they will not create a drag on GDP. In addition, any potential downward pressure on the local currency actually can be a benefit to that country. Even more, trade surplus may stagnate the trade itself since the trade partner might feel that they are the one getting disadvantages. Hence issues about trade deficit are certainly controversial problems that bring out active discussion.

Types of protectionism vary and each has its special characteristics. Let’s take a look at five different examples of protectionism. The first type is EU common agricultural policy (CAP). It is EU imposing substantial rates of tariff on many agricultural markets, despite reforms and some reduction in tariff rates. The aim of this policy is to increase prices for domestic European farmers and increase their income.

The second example can be seen from the example of Banana Wars. For a long time, there were

substantial tariffs on banana imports from Latin America. Exporters had to pay €176 (£141) per

ton of bananas. But, in 2012, an agreement has seen these tariffs reduced.

Another type is the tariffs on imports of Chinese tires into U.S. The US imposed tariffs of 35%

on imports of tires from China. This tariff was upheld by WTO.

The fourth type is the Argentina food tariffs. Argentina has increased imports duties on 100

products, including over a dozen agricultural goods under the Mercosur Common External Tariff

(CET). In this example, tariffs on the import of milk powder were increased to 9% after record

levels of imports and fears Argentinian farmers would suffer falling incomes.

The fifth example is the escalated tariffs. This occurs when higher tariffs are placed on processed

food. This creates countries to be demotivated and add value to raw materials. For instance, a

WTO report found that the average EU tariff on primary food products was 9.9% but for

processed food products it was more than twice as high, at 19.4%. This is for the EU’s MFN

(Most Favored Nation).

Conversely, the problem not only stays for the US and its trade issues. Trade war and

protectionist policies between the US, EU, China etc. will in fact harm the third world countries

by refugee problems or downgrading their economic status even more. There’s no denying that

since the global financial crash G20 nations have consistently increased protectionism, with

painful consequences for the same African nations they self-congratulate for sending aid to.

According to the African Development Bank, the continent’s nations bore the brunt of measures

including export taxes and tariff and non-tariff barriers, as well as state aid.

Then why would countries choose to apply protectionism?

Countries may impose tariffs on goods for the following reasons, but not limited to:

1. Protecting Infant industry

2. Diversifying the economy by nurturing promising industries

3. Raising revenue

4. Protecting certain key industries from international competition to try and safeguard jobs

5. Protecting domestic jobs which are threatened by the rise of imports.

IV. Past Actions of the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations:

| United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP):

The UNESCAP is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations Economic and

Social Council, under the administrative direction of the United Nations headquarters. It

especially handles the issues of Asia and the Pacific countries.

ESCAP's regional focus is managing globalization through programs in environmentally sustainable development, trade, and human rights.

The UNESCAP report said growing global trade has helped many areas over the years. But opposition to globalization is growing in the United States, Europe and other areas. People there are critical of free trade policies, and companies move jobs to overseas markets.

The writers of the report warned of reduced economic growth in major developing nations if trade protectionism and global insecurity increase. They predicted the growth rates to be lowered by 1.2 percentage points. The report also noted that the Asia Pacific region remains “the engine of global growth.” Conversely, it said pay inequality is increasing and good jobs are difficult to find. It noted environmental damage was a major concern in some countries following years of economic expansion. It said the growth came at a huge cost to the environment.

V. Major Countries Involved

| The United States

We can say that the main cause of the protectionist trade war is because of the United States’ new policies. President Trump got elected by bringing up commitments that he will make America great again, and no more capital of US will be exported to other countries. Hence, the United States government is breaking up FTA made with others, and is imposing higher tariffs when they trade. As the effect of this diplomatic performance, other nations are also responding by putting more tariffs as well.

| Europe Union (EU)

The EU is the main defenders of the US’s protectionist trade policies. Since the US has

the strong economic and military power, other countries mostly do not resist to America’s

trade policies, but EU is the one which resists to US’s policy and do the same thing to the

US such as imposing more tariffs.

| China

US President Donald Trump is leading the protectionist surge, and his trade-based

aggression so far has been focused largely on China, Mexico, and Canada. On Tuesday,

he announced plans for tariffs on roughly $50 billion (R595 billion) worth of Chinese

products, including raw materials, construction machinery, agricultural equipment,

electronics, medical devices, and consumer goods. China quickly hit back with plans to

impose tariffs on more than 100 American products with a combined trading value of

over $50 billion.

| Asian Countries

Asian countries are facing a harsh situation where the US is about to break FTA, which

will harm the economy of that country. Conversely, most of these Asian countries do not

have the power to go against US, and impose a lot of tariffs just like EU is doing to the

United States. Hence Asian countries can be defined as the countries who might face

economic hardship due to this protectionist trade war.

| Mexico

Mexico put tariffs on American products ranging from steel to pork and bourbon on

Tuesday, retaliating against import duties on metals imposed by President Donald Trump

and taking aim at Republican strongholds ahead of U.S. congressional elections in

November. Mexico’s response further raises trade tensions between the two countries and

adds a new complication to efforts to renegotiate the trillion-dollar North American Free

Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

VI. Future Outlook/Solutions

The first step to clear the chaos existing in the international society due to America’s

sudden protectionist trade policies and according trade war is to discuss about what is the

direct harm that happens due to the United States’ certain policies. The US says that it is

not problematic to make protectionist policies since it is only the freedom of that

government. Thus, it is necessary to clarify the exact stakeholders and their

disadvantages. At the same time, however, it is true that this certain policy is threatening

other countries, and making more and more protectionist policies to come up from other

countries. Hence, it is the responsibility of the UN, as the biggest international

organization, to discuss how to settle this chaos down and make the world a more

cosmopolitan society where everyone can be satisfied.

Moreover, it is also a burden for the United Nations to consider long term harms such as

refugee problems. Since the protectionist trade policies of various countries might likely

strengthen their border security, it may lead to refugee problems. For instance, the United

States is also bringing up security policies of not accepting more refugees along with

protectionist trade policies, it is likely that the other countries from EU and South

America etc. will also block more refugees from coming. Another issue may be trade war

leading to a bigger war like the second Cold War. Therefore, the international society

should pay a lot of attention to this trade war and unstable condition to solve this problem

existing in the status quo and preventing side effects.

In addition, we should also contemplate on protectionist policies in poor countries.

Protectionism is often associated with, and criticized in the policies of poorer countries.

It’s what Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Iran do, and why they are ranked among the least

competitive business environments. Yet it is these countries from which Trump now

takes inspiration. Indeed, it was India’s fondness for protectionism – imposing 100%

duties on US motorcycles while the US had zero duties on motorcycles imported from

India – that ostensibly justified Trump’s renewed passion for tariffs on imported steel. It

is the third world countries that need protectionism but not the first world countries. It is

also a burden to discuss how the protectionism should be implied to poorer nations and

help them develop.

Furthermore, harms that will go to its own citizens due to trade restrictions also need to

be taken under consideration. For example, in the United States, Midwest manufacturers

are suffering the consequences of huge cost increases and retaliatory tariffs, as

documented in the Omaha World-Herald. “Facing a 30 to 40 percent price increase is just

knocking the socks off us,” says Behlen Manufacturing Chairman Tony Raimondo.

Polaris Industries is considering following the lead of Harley-Davidson by moving its

motorcycle production from northwest Iowa to another country. “It’s becoming

increasingly difficult to export from the United States. It’s becoming increasingly

difficult to grow jobs here,” summarized Chief Industries’ Agri Division president Mike

Lewis.

VII. Conclusion

At the end of the day, such international trade war due to protectionist trade policies of

various countries, has brought chaos to the whole international society and is likely to

bring further social harms. Hence, it is crucial for the international organization,

especially ECOSOC, as the committee that deals with economic and social issues of the

nations, to discuss about this issue and come up with the best solution that can calm down

the society and prevent further harms from happening.

Within the committee, there are few necessary points to be discussed:

1) What is the exact problem that is happening in the status quo, and can happen later,

due to protectionist trade policies? Who are the stakeholders?

2) Is this a problem that must be solved, or is it a natural phenomenon?

3) If it is a problem, how should we solve this problem?

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