Monday, October 29, 2012

Employment, Dominican republic and Tobacco Plain packaging

(Cigarette manufacturing in the Dominican Republic)

The Dominican Republic is one of the complainants along with Ukraine and Honduras against the Tobacco Plain Packaging legislation of Australia. This piece in the Dominican Today about the dispute highlights the centrality of tobacco manufacturing in the Dominican Republic:
"While tobacco has been cultivated in the Dominican Republic for more than five centuries, the Dominican tobacco industry is a hundred years old. Tobacco export revenues represent roughly 8% of total exports in merchandise. The Dominican Republic is the largest net exporter of cigars in the world. Tobacco products represent 8.5% of fiscal revenue on merchandise taxation. There are around 5,500 tobacco producers, employing approximately 55,000 agricultural workers. Tobacco manufacturing employs another 63,000 people, of which 60 percent are women. Combined with the entire tobacco production chain, the industry thus generates around direct 118,000 jobs which supports approximately 350,000 people, according to information published by the Tobacco Institute of the Dominican Republic."
Thus, tobacco manufacturing and export is one of the main industries here as well as employment generator. It supports families and gives employment to a large number of women. Is this irrelevant in a dispute international trade law? If the Australian legislation, which is an exercise of its domestic policy space, is held to be compatible with WTO law (GATT, TBT and TRIPS), is the question of employment and job creation irrelevant to the issue. This is another classic case of the "loser" in globalization. An industry which was thriving can be possibly hurt by measures taken by other countries which may not be incompatible with international trade law. Those employed in these industries constitute a domestic constituency. How does the politics of domestic interests play out in international trade relations? While Dominican Republic's domestic will to engage in the trade is not impacted per se, the Australian measure does impact it in a negative way. Do considerations such as employment potential figure in the debate at all?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nearly every home in the world has some sort of video games device. Some people play video gaming as a livelihood, while others play for leisure. No matter why you are playing, games are not going anywhere. The advice below is truly priceless.

Don't use harsh solutions to clean gaming systems. Instead, blown on it very lightly so you can eliminate dust. Using harsh solutions can ruin your system.

Think about what age your kids have to be before they can play games rated M, or mature. Generally, you can set up your wii so that kids can't play games that are too mature, although computers are a little harder to work with. It is important to understand how to protect your children.

Before you allow your children to play a computer game, ensure you know its rating. Some games have violent content and are meant for people that are over 18. Violence can give your children the wrong values, which may show later in life. Try to refrain from video games that promote violence for your children's sake.

It is important to take breaks and avoid excessive computer game playing. It's fairly easy to get addicted to a particular game, and this isn't healthy so you must get away from it every once in a while. Gaming is meant to be an enjoyable experience. Should you feel that addiction is an issue, speak to a medical professional about help.

Always use a high grade video connector when setting up your computer game system. These cables allow you to connect to your television with different picture qualities. You should use the best ones for computer games. If you can, use DVI or HDMI in order to obtain the best possible signal and picture. If your television does not offer this type of connection, there are several options available including S-Video, Composite and RCA connections. Coax connections are common, but they offer lower quality. Only use these cables if they're the only ones available.

The industry is going forward and gamers are too. Gamers want a huge selection, super-fast access and great prices. If you see a game you want, but don't like the price tag, just wait patiently for a bit. As time passes, the price of the games will decrease so the manufacturer will still be able to record high sales volume.

You can sell your old video games with the use of online ads. EBay is a tool that you can use to get your games on the market, but don't use it first. Sometimes there can be issues with shipping when selling from eBay, but if you know what you are doing, it is a great way to sell your games. Try Craigslist, or use the marketplace app on Facebook.

Make sure you duck and take cover before reloading your weapon. A lot of time people get killed when they are just not controlling their character. Be smart and avoid this. Find cover first, and then reload your weapon.

Try playing video games as a way to bond with your children. Gaming together is a fun and inexpensive way to get in some family time. It can also allow you to ensure that your kids aren't playing inappropriate games.

Figure out how to operate the safety and parental controls of any gaming system that comes into your home. You can likely make adjustments that keep kids from viewing mature content. Some allow each gaming profile to be customized separately, allowing adults to enjoy games not meant for younger audiences.

You can get many hours of enjoyment from many different kinds of video gaming. Use this advice to make the best from your gaming purchases. The world of online gaming has evolved into a highly competitive market with games for everyone.