Changing Trade Routes and The Effects

The changes produced from the financial crises of 2008 are still being felt today. We still see new and emerging trends no one quite expected. Sure, we’re very familiar with the changes in our own country. We are aware to a much lesser extent to the changes that have occurred globally, except for the EU; this follows since we’re not very concerned with the happenings of the global community. What we would call “developing” nations has seen drastic changes in their respective internal economies and their global trade relations.   

In this case, we are focused on the overall Asian market and recent trade trends. The recent trend has seen an increase in trade between nations in the Asia region. As tracked the world largest shipping container line, Moller-Maersk, in 2012, the volume of trade between counties in this region increased 19%, while trade volume between the Asia region and the European Union grew only 3%. Those are stark differences in growth, right? We are seeing this trend in other regions around the globe.

Regional neighbors increasing trade between one another has both pros and cons. On the one hand, a country may miss out on the lower costs for imported goods and higher profits on exported goods, theoretically. Globalization can potentially provide great benefits to the consumer, manufacturers, and service sector; of course, there will be those who see no benefit or are worse off. The benefits of trade between nations and comparative advantage are still possible. It does open more opportunities for localized merchants to sell more products in the absence of more global competition. I hope this will revitalize and/or develop local economies to the benefit of local people, people who globalization may not have benefitted.