bloc

Examples of bloc in the following topics:

• Trade Blocs and Common Markets

  • A trade bloc is an agreement where regional barriers to trade are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.
  • The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an example of a formal trade bloc.
  • However, entering a trade bloc also strengthens ties between member parties.
  • For better or for worse, trade blocs are prevalent.
  • Since 1997, more than 50% of all world commerce was conducted under the auspices of regional trade blocs, such as NAFTA.

• The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

  • NAFTA is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America.
  • The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America.
  • In terms of combined GDP of its members, the trade bloc is the largest in the world as of 2010.

• The Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR)

  • Intra-Mercosur merchandise trade (excluding Venezuela) grew from USD 10 billion at the inception of the trade bloc in 1991, to $88 billion in 2010; Brazil and Argentina accounted for 43% of this total.
  • The trade balance within the bloc has historically been tilted toward Brazil, which recorded an intra-Mercosur balance of over $5 billion in 2010.
  • Exports from the bloc are highly diversified, and include a variety of agricultural, industrial, and energy goods.
  • The bloc comprises a population of more than 270 million people, and the combined Gross Domestic Product of the full-member nations is in excess of $3 trillion a year according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), making Mercosur the fifth-largest economy in the world.
  • It is the fourth-largest trading bloc after the European Union.

• The Cold War Begins

  • The Cold War began with the formation of the Eastern Bloc, as well as the implementation of the Marshall Plan and the Berlin Blockade.
  • The Eastern European territories liberated from the Nazis and occupied by the Soviet armed forces were added to the Eastern Bloc by converting them into satellite states.
  • He had built up the Eastern Bloc protective belt of Soviet controlled nations on his Western border, and wanted to maintain this buffer zone of states and a weakened Germany under Soviet control.
  • Fearing American political, cultural and economic penetration, Stalin eventually forbade Soviet Eastern bloc countries from accepting Marshall Plan aid.
  • Stalin believed that economic integration with the West would allow Eastern Bloc countries to escape Soviet control, and that the US was trying to buy a pro-US re-alignment of Europe.

• Trading blocs and agreements

  • Regional trading blocs represent a group of nations that join together and formally agree to reduce trade barriers among themselves.
  • NAFTA is such a bloc.

• Political Environment

  • Regional trading blocs represent groups of nations that join together and formally agree to reduce trade barriers among themselves.
  • NAFTA is such a bloc.
  • These treaties together have worked to form the political and economic bloc known as the European Union.

• The International Monetary Structure

  • The international monetary structure involves international institutions, regional trading blocs, private players, and national governments.
  • For example, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurozone, Mercosur, and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are all examples of regional trade blocs, which are very important to the international monetary structure .
  • NAFTA, a free trade area between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, is an example of the importance of regional trade blocs to the international monetary structure.

• Political and Regulatory Environment

  • Political stability, trade blocs, tariffs, and expropriation are risks that should be evaluated prior to marketing in foreign countries.
  • Regional trading blocs represent a group of nations that join together and formally agree to reduce trade barriers among themselves.

• Conclusion: Truman and the Beginning of the Cold War

  • The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its satellite states).
  • A series of events during and after World War II exacerbated tensions, including the Soviet-German pact during the first two years of the war leading to subsequent invasions, the perceived delay of an amphibious invasion of German-occupied Europe, the western allies' support of the Atlantic Charter, disagreement in wartime conferences over the fate of Eastern Europe, the Soviets' creation of an Eastern Bloc of Soviet satellite states, western allies scrapping the Morgenthau Plan to support the rebuilding of German industry, and the Marshall Plan.
  • The USSR consolidated its control over the states of the Eastern Bloc, while the United States began a strategy of global containment to challenge Soviet power, extending military and financial aid to the countries of Western Europe (for example, supporting the anti-communist side in the Greek Civil War) and creating the NATO alliance.
  • Europe became split between the Soviet "Eastern Bloc" and the "Western Bloc."

• Wilson's Loss at Home

  • An angry bloc of 12 to 18 "Irreconcilables" (mostly Republicans, but also representatives of the Irish and German Democrats) fiercely opposed the Treaty.
  • The largest bloc—led by Senator Lodge— comprised a majority of the Republicans.