Where is the United States in International Trade relations?

To trade or not to trade? The attached article, found in Fortune Magazine, relates to international trade, or in respect to the United States, the lack thereof. Author, Nina Eaton, focuses on the seemingly collective push for international trade from all the major countries, except the United States. China, Japan, Asia and South Korea are all working to improve free trade and remove trade barriers. “Leaders of developing countries [are] moving aggressively to remove trade barriers, while the U.S. sits on the sidelines”.
The lack of United States involvement on world trade agreements has resulted in large firms, once invested in the United States, to move around trade tariffs and create jobs elsewhere. Another factor the United States needs to think about is long term relationships with other countries. By refusing or not committing to trade agreements this will make the United States more likely to get a reputation for being difficult. Recently, Canada, a regular trading country with the United States had a bad experience that resulted in Canadian government spreading the word about United States lack of follow through. There is as much a need to maintain imports as there are exports.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/15/news/economy/free_trade_matters_caterpillar.fortune/index.htm

India struggles to meet the demand for outsourcing

The article below applies to outsourcing, which was a topic my International Management class covered recently. Some countries are having difficulty keeping up with the rising demand for outsourcing services. This article focuses on Indian company named Infosys. Infosys is having trouble trying to create and maintain a workforce to meet the increasing demand for its outsourcing services. They lost many employees during the recession due to low pay, tough performance reviews and rare promotions.

With a surge in demand for services the firm is trying to get their old employees back. They are hoping to do so through new and improved human resource campaigns. Infosys says the firm expects to hire 30,000 previous and new employees this current fiscal year. If they do not, this may result in companies doing more business in their home base or outsourcing elsewhere.

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/07/08/search-for-lost-sheep/?KEYWORDS=Outsourcing

The New Manufacturing Industry

While reading the Wall Street Journal I came across an article relating to global business titled "The Sun Rises on Chinese Competition" by Thomas Hout. For my fellow classmates in International Management I thought this would be particularly interesting. I believe while we were studying the theories of Geert Hofstede the ongoing competition between the West and China was mentioned. This article relates to this topic because it touches upon the changing manufacturing market China once monopolized.
The industries that China did have control over are fading out and new industries have developed due to the need for green technologies, such as wind turbines and solar panels. These new industries are all about innovation. The Chinese currently use silicon to create panels, but the Americans have gained an edge by using a thin film semi conductor containing cadmium telluride and another using copper. These options offer a cheaper production process and are more efficient that silicon.
The Chinese may be at a disadvantage because they have all the market in old technologies but are no longer seeing a profit. The Chinese are still working towards making ties with big name companies and have even created partnerships in the West. This may leave them in a good position. But what does it mean for the future of China and the U.S.? Will manufacturing forever change in this new eco-friendly environment?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704009804575309721957767994.html