Global Business Control

Introduction 

International business is becoming a trend in today’s world. A business that is said to be international is that which has its transactions taking place across national borders. These type of businesses include small firms that import or export small amounts of goods to only one country. Large global firms that have strategic alliances and businesses operations around the world also fall in this category. Global trade has different forms of controls and regulations that help businesses operations to be well-coordinated ( Rugman & Verbeke, 2017). These controls come in the form of international laws that are recognized globally. 

International Trade History 

Once the United States won After the Second World War was over, the United States decided that standardizing business operations worldwide would be a great idea that would help promote the world economy. The American trading system that was dominating business operations set up legal frameworks that would lead to the creation of free trade in the global regime. The idea was to use the American dollar as the currency for trade. Liberalization of trade and investment made trade easier and resulted in the growth of international business in the course of the last half of the twentieth century. Liberalization came as a result of the introduction of the negations of GATT which refers to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The next development in international trade was the World Trade Organization which was formed in the year 1995. The development of electronic funds transfer also made business transactions easier to carry out since they made worldwide capital movements possible. Introduction of the euro currency in January 2002 also boosted the world economy. All these developments made the international trade to flourish and as a result, led to the improvement of economic relations among different countries. 

International Laws 

The European Union, the NAFTA and the GATT treaties are the main international law sources. These treaties are responsible for the formation of international trade standards and regulations as well as legal codes of conduct that serve to bind together member nations. The law mainly helps in addressing ethical issues that come about as a result of business operations being done globally ( Brack, 2017). Examples of matters that arise include disputes between different member nations and the determination of the rights and responsibilities of parties involved in international business transactions of any kind. These laws govern business agreements in international sales. They also provide direction in the making of strategic plans of market entry for firms and the formulation of intellectual property protection policies in foreign investments. International laws also help governments to have a legal basis of international business regulation. GATT, which is one of the international law treaties, help in the promotion of multilateral fair trade and the reduction of trade barriers. Import tariff or duty are mainly used as income sources in any country in the world. There are times when countries provide undue emission of some of these tariffs to businesses so that they can benefit from the proceeds of the export business transactions. GATT, therefore, helps to check for any of these unfair subsidies and ensure that international laws are followed to the later. Any member country found to be violating these laws will be made to face the penalties that are stipulated by the international treaties. These regulations are a great way to keep international business transactions monitored and carefully coordinated. 

McDonald’s and International Trade 

International business requires the understanding and mastering of international trade arbitration rules as well as international conventions for one to succeed in their transactions. McDonald’s has had its share of problems as it sought to expand its business operations beyond the American borders. One specific instance is during the case it had with Vikram Bakshi who was McDonald’s Indian business partner. The trial of his case was held at the Delhi High Court where McDonald’s accused Vikram Bakshi of violating international arbitration laws and thus abusing the judicial process. This knowledge of international laws saved MacDonald’s from undergoing loss as a result of their business getting closed because of the case. Because registration and recognition of trademarks and patents in one country are usually not a guarantee in other countries, McDonald's has had to deal with cases of patent and trademark discrepancies in some nations where it was carrying out international business ( Deresky, 2017). Such include cases like McMunchies in Britain and, McJoy at the Philippines. 

My opinion on International Trade 

I believe that better implementation strategies and mechanisms governing international business transactions are needed to ensure that the increased trade risks are reduced. The current world faces challenges of illegal businesses that are disrupting the economy and interfering with government regulations in many countries. Many business firms have been known to evade payment of taxes and therefore conducting their operations illegally. Dealing with foreign mergers and illegal market goods is one main challenge that faces world trade. New ways of handling corporate law differences among different countries should be developed to facilitate international business transactions and the removal of barriers to effective trade operations like disputes. The existing international treaties should also find better solutions to political instability situations that affect business transactions in unstable nations. Support from governments of member nations should also be sought to eliminate the problem of indifference to international trade that has been witnessed in some of the nations. 

Conclusion 

International business transactions have played a key role in the growth of the world economy. It has served in promoting good business relations among different countries. International laws, on the other hand, function to ensure that good relations between nations are maintained and that trade is carried out in a fair manner. There are, however, some challenges facing international trade operations. These can be overcome by the formulation and implementation of good policies formulated by international trade treaties like GATT. When these problems are overcome, international trade will grow, and the world will become a better place. 

References 

Brack, D. (2017). International trade and the Montreal Protocol. Routledge. 

Deresky, H. (2017). International management: Managing across borders and cultures. Pearson Education India. 

Rugman, A., & Verbeke, A. (2017). Global corporate strategy and trade policy. Routledge.