Global Commodity Chains Sweatshops and Trade, Article Review Example

The research that was carried out by Bair and Peters (2006) relating to global commodity chains in Honduras and Mexico found out that this sector was suffering from lack of sustainable development strategies. Very little evidence emerged to show that these two countries were generating the ideal conditions for meaningful ingenious growth to take place.

Although both countries have different organizational structures for exporting their commodities, they share very similar problems. The main reason for this is that regulatory regimes have rules of origin that are designed to bring benefits to fabric manufacturers from the US alone. China also benefits from the liberalization strategies that are applied in Latin America, especially in areas of macroeconomic environments and institutional mechanisms.

In a different review, comparison shifts to Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. The main objective here is to assess the comparative advantage lessons that can be learnt from the experiences of these two Latin American countries. Three main arguments are advanced: first, that the apparel sector is not a good driver of economic development. Second, that comparative advantage has been created mainly through high spending in education and health sectors, with the main target being foreign investments.

In terms of comparative advantage, Costa Rica has more technological content than Dominican Republic. The third argument is that new sectors that handle exports are still lacking proper linkages with other economic sectors and therefore many benefits of value-adding services end up in the hands of multinational corporations. The recommendation is therefore to change global commodity chains in order for a level playing ground in international trade to prevail.

This brings into focus the thorny question of how to handle issues that today are proving tough for even    anti-sweatshop movements to handle. Their main aim, according to Fridell (2006) is to bring about regulations in operations of transnational corporations. The main aim of this regulation is to empower participants of the global south in order to make the international trade playground level.