Английский язык. Практический курс для решения бизнес-задач

Exercise 2*. Find terms in the text that match definitions given below and make sentences of your own with each term.

1. international trade that is not regulated by tariffs, duties or quotas

2. zone of duty-free foreign trade within the territory of a given state

3. international organization fostering international monetary cooperation through the stabilization of exchange rates, the removal of foreign exchange restrictions and the facilitation of international payments and of international liquidity

4. a treaty signed in 1992 by the member states of the then European Community intended to inaugurate a new stage in the process of European integration

5. a company having production and other facilities in a number of countries outside the nation of origin

6. an agreement for a tariff-free area established between the USA, Canada and Mexico

7. the use of customs tariff and non-tariff policy to protect national economy or ensure unilateral competitive advantages

8. a market in which securities are bought and sold

9. organization set up in 1995 following the conclusion of the Uruguay round of trade negotiations that replaced GATT

Exercise 3. You are a journalist writing for The New York Times and you are to interview an expert from A.T. Kearney who calculated globalization indices for the U.S. and Russia. Make a dialogue between these two individuals using the following briefing materials.

The Schizophrenic United States. The world superpower became a bit more global in 2003, climbing three spots in the globalization index to the 4th position. But a quick glance at the U.S. report card reveals a hit-or-miss performance. The U.S. put up stratospheric numbers in the technology basket, ranking first in the number of Internet hosts and the number of secure servers. But the U.S. lagged far behind in categories including trade, FDI, and treaty commitments. In part, the U.S. lackluster perfomance in economic areas is due to its vibrant domestic market. Because many U.S. producers can focus exclusively on satisfying U.S. consumers, the United States is a less trade-dependent nation than small exporting countries such as Singapore and Ireland. In some ways, the U.S. economy is a world unto itself. The Bush administration often acted similarly aloof in political and diplomatic terms. Consider the United States’ skepticism of international treaty regimes. In 2003, the Bush administration continued to turn up its nose at a variety of international agreements. The White House’s opposition to the Kyoto Protocol and the International Criminal Court is well known. But the Bush administration didn’t even want to sign on to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes. The U.S. looks suspiciously at many of the new legal and institutional arrangements that are binding world together, at least on paper.

Russia Falls Behind. Russia’s globalization score tumbled eight places in this year’s index to the 52nd position. The Russian economy has become dependent on oil and gas investments, and the country’s partial transformation into a «petrostate» means that its economy is becoming vulnerable to the vicissitudes of those markets. By some accounts, the energy sector’s contribution to industrial output is about 25% of GDP and 50% of the country’s export earnings. The Kremlin’s legal assault on oil giant YUKOS and the bloody terrorist attacks by Chechen forces have deterred many foreign investors. Corruption and inefficiency are also sapping Russian economic strength. By some estimates, the black market was between 20 and 40% of the Russian economy. Privatization and deregulation, meanwhile, have stalled. Russia still has not made the reforms necessary to join the WTO, and trade as a share of Russia’s GDP fell sharply between 1999 and 2003.

Source: Measuring Globalization. A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Global Index, 2005

Exercise 4*. Fill in the blanks using terms given below.

Globalization

Globalization has altered the economic frameworks of both advanced and……. in ways that are difficult to fully comprehend. Nonetheless, the largely unregulated……., with some notable exceptions, appear to move smoothly from one state of equilibrium to another. Adam Smith’s………. remains at work on a global scale.