Countertrade in third world mutual trade: some notes
Author
Faculty Advisor
Date
1989
Keywords
Abstract (summary)
South-South trade has increasingly taken the form of countertrade, a phenomenon variously described as representing 'a freeing' of trade among Third World countries, 'an aberrant feature of the multilateral trading system' and 'a means of maintaining South-South trade which might otherwise not take place'. The paradox inherent in countertrade is clear. Its alleged aberrancy derives from the fact that it entails many of the restrictive and discriminatory practices associated with the bilaterism of the pre-1939 era and also in the fact that in some instances it allows participants to provide each other preferential terms such as subsidies or discounts which can be kept secret from other partners, but at the same time it represents one of the strictest forms of reciprocity - a principle at the heart of the global trading framework.
Publication Information
Mensah, Chaldeans. "Countertrade in Third World Mutual Trade: Some Notes." IFDA Dossier 70 (March/April, 1989): 35-46.
DOI
Notes
Item Type
Article
Language
English
Rights
All Rights Reserved