MGTC44  Int'l Business Management A 3rd year undergraduatecourse in the Division of Management,  University of Toronto at Scarborough

This was a question at the end of Test #1 in Jan 2007, and designed to test knowledge of current events
Subject: Ontario Foreign relations

Question
As U of T. students you are students in the largest university, in the most economically powerful province in the country. The Dept. of Foreign Affairs and the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) handle issues on a national scale. But for people in int’l trade, it is also important to know what is going on at the provincial level, especially if you come from a big province like Quebec, Ontario or B.C. The Premier of our province (Ont.) is presently (3rd week of Jan 2007) in the middle of a trip to the Middle East / East Asia. What is the purpose of his visit to Pakistan? (hint, it is virtually the same as the other countries he visited) What is the uncomfortable issue he avoided discussing and what are some of the contentious issues between Pakistan and Canada right now? The answer to this question serves as a perfect example of how trade issues get effected by other circumstances. (3 marks)

Answer
Premier McGuinty met with officials in Pakistan to discuss trade. The sensitive topic was the fact that Canadian soldiers are fighting next door in Afghanistan and there are reports that the Taliban are repeatedly crossing the border and hiding in Pakistan. Pakistan is accused by some western nations of being soft on the Taliban. McGuinty DID NOT bring up this issue since he wants to focus on trade. Meaning opportunities for Canadian companies to sell into Pakistan and buy cheap products from Pakistan to import in to Canada.

Question
You have been told, almost every class in C44, read the newspaper on a regular basis because current events are important for international business studies, and you will have questions on the tests and exams about obvious big current events. Answer one of the following two questions. You may use both sides of the paper BUT MAKE SURE you indicate which question you are answering. Try to be specific in your answer. “Volume” is not important – just tell me something “useful and interesting”.

If you don’t know anything about these stories, you can try to “make up” an answer, but use language that honestly expresses that.

Q7A Last night Jan 31st, President Bush gave a “State of the Union” address. This is similar to our parliamentary “Speech from the Throne”. What the U.S. does – and what the POTUS (President of the United States) says, has a big impact on Cdn int’l business. The story about the “State of the Union” was in all the major newspapers today – Wednesday and discussed on all the major Cdn and US TV news programs. Discuss 3 things POTUS said and what impact they may have on Canadians involved in international business. (4 marks)

Q7B Last week Stephen Harper’s Conservative party won the majority of the seats and the Governor General accepted Paul Martin’s resignation as PMOC (Prime Minister of Canada). Discuss 3 things that may have an impact on Canadians involved in international business as a result in the change of government. (4 marks)

Question
In several Canadian newspapers, (end of the 2nd week and beginning of the 3rd week of October 2003) there were stories carried about the APEC summit in Thailand. In a story carried in the Toronto Star on Monday Oct 20th there was an article about President Bush further pushing his agenda and P.M. Chretien was noted for using his meeting with China’s President Hu to discuss something important.

• What are some of the economic concerns the U.S. presently have with China, as profiled by Bush in his meeting with Hu? (2 marks)

Answer, the U.S. concerned about trying to get China to let its currency trade freely instead of being pegged to the U.S. dollar. President Hu is resisting this since cheap exports from China are, in his opinion, needed to contine to drive the economy of China since in Hu's opinion China is not yet ready to float its currency
- other points can be mentioned like the balance of trade deficit and the U.S. concern of software and music CD piracy but the currency issue is the main issue presently
 
• What Canadian export situation is Chretien trying to facilitate by his meeting with Hu? (2 marks)

Answer: Chretien is trying to get China to buy some CANDU nuclear reactors - this would be a big sale for Canada's high tech industry
- you could mention exporting beef and other things but it is actually Japan that buys most of the Canadian beef
 
• What is the current relationship between Canadian and U.S. leaders as evidenced by U.S. action, or inaction on a matter of political significance, at the summit? – and how can this effect Canadian political and economic relations (2 marks)

 

 

Answer: Bush's people indicated they would not set up a 1on1 meeting with Chretien at the summit. In the end they only sat beside each other briefly but it was not official, just a simple photo-op for the Cdn press. Bush has made no secret of disliking Chretien (partly because we would not support the war in Iraq) and this effects the development of communication for discussing particular trade problems, like Cdn beef into the U.S. market after the Mad Cow scare in Alberta, or Cdn softwood lumber exports