IMF
The role of the IMF
short-term aid for balance-of-payments issues
WTO entity for adjudicating disagreements
Dispute Settlement Unit
How much do you need? This actor was the largest liquidity provider in 2008 when countries were wary of IMF
US Federal Reserve
The imposition of these reduces trade and protects domestic industries from outside competition
Tariffs
This major player in Global Governance is not a central player in international trade and finance
United Nations
IMF + what = lubricant for all states to slide into globalized economy
World Bank
Hey, that's my idea! TRIPS is an agreement on this.
Intellectual Property (Trade Related Agreement for Intellectual Property Rights)
Let's get going! Central banks did this with interest rates to stimulate domestic economies
Cut interest rates
It's great to have this country as a WTO member, although it may not always follow the rules, leading to US complaints
China
Flashback: during COVID, patents on these brought back memories of South Africa in the 1990s
Vaccines
I saw what you did. This IMF action and the fallout from it made countries not want IMF loans.
1998 bailouts with extensive structural reforms attached
These two countries have brought more complaints about each other to the WTO than any other countries
US and China
These private institutions signed off on subprime financial instruments, saying they were A-OK
Ratings agencies
This Chinese initiative leads to China building infrastructure in developing countries
Belt and Road
Who gets what? This conflict is the major obstacle to trade deals, given that 80% of the world is poor and trade deals lead to shifts in the allocation of resources
Distributional conflicts
This country became the 1st Western country to access an IMF loan since the 1970s during the 2008 crisis, when its banking system collapsed
Iceland
Nelson Mandela did this, which caused the US government and 39 pharma companies to sue
A law designed to undo medical apartheid, make generic HIV/AIDS drugs available in South Africa
Bailouts in Greece, Spain, required governments to adopt these measures due to perceived economic mismanagement
Austerity
The Washington consensus was a liberal economic ideology that proposed IMF loans should require these conditions
Fiscal discipline, Privatization of state industries, Trade and foreign direct investment liberalization, Government deregulation to foster open competition, Tax reforms (cuts!)
Developing countries bring few complaints to the WTO's dispute settlement unit for these reasons
Expensive to bring a case, fear of jeopordizing relationship with powerful trading partners
IMFs resources were increased to this amount of money by the G-20 during the 2008 financial crisis
$750B
GATT was created by Bretton Woods architects who wanted this
A multilateral trading system that allows nations to preserve economic autonomy
U up? IMF made these new friends after the 08 financial crisis
IMF began collaborating with regional financing agreements
Be careful: bailouts protect banks from consequences, reducing their incentive to guard against risk, a danger defined as this in economic term
Moral hazard
WTO sided with the US when it complained about the EU banning hormone treated beef, because of this WTO rule prohibiting banning products
WTO prohibits countries from banning a product because of the process by which it is produced