Abstract:Since China first joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, many countries around the world have sought to capitalize on lower tariff rates and China's increasing demand for high quality agricultural products. However, as competitive pressures in its agricultural sector have intensified, the Chinese government has implemented other forms of protectionist measures. Known as non-tariff measures (NTMs), these policy initiatives have added another dimension to international trade activities that needs to be better understood. Using a set of variables clearly identified in academic literature, our paper analyzes the effect that sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) have on New Zealand, U.S., Korean, and Japanese agricultural exports to China. To measure the effect that NTMs have on exports, we use an adapted version of the gravity model and the Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood method. The key findings from the empirical projection show that Chinese SPS measures have a negative, albeit insignificant effect on the sample as a whole. However, when looking at the individual countries, the SPS measures were seen to have a negative effect on Japan and the U.S., while from a Korean perspective, their impact was positive and significant. As part of a secondary analysis, it was interesting to note that the SPS measures had a positive effect on New Zealand's exports before its free trade agreements (FTA) with China came into force. However, in the years since then, they were seen to have a negative impact.

The luxury tourism industry immediately conjures up thoughts of exclusivity, with access to it confined to a small and elite group of travelers often located within their own social bubble. Our systematic literature review seeks to understand how tourism scholarship has addressed the issue of luxury travel based on social media pronouncements and the areas of concentration in which earlier studies have been conducted. Literature was sourced using the following key terms “luxury tourism”, “elite travel”, “social media”, and “sustainability” in various combinations using the OneSearch online platform, the Proquest Database, and Google Scholar. Only peer-reviewed journals were used for the critical analysis. Three main thematic areas were identified and reviewed: (1) the role of social media in luxury tourism; (2) the behavioral attributes of luxury travelers’ when using social media; and (3) the methodologies employed in the extant literature, given the limitations of accessing specific data for the luxury tourism market. The selected period for the journals and articles reviewed was the last ten years, from March 2010 to March 2020. NVivo version 12 was used to decipher the themes and focus areas as well as quantify the significance of social media to luxury tourism. Drawing from these literature review outcomes, the study explores future research areas and issues that require new theoretical and methodological frameworks to further our understanding of the intersection between social media and the luxury tourism business.

The US-China trade war has been a key aspect of empirical review in recent times. Using the OECD Inter-Country Input-Output Model, this study proposes an improved incomplete tariff pass-through measurement method of cumulative tariff costs incurred across GVCs. Such an approach provides a more accurate picture of the impact of the US-China trade war on not only themselves but also third-party countries. Our study found that five rounds of tit-for-tat tariff escalation has resulted in an indirect tariff burden of around 23 billion US dollars (USD) in total, of which 67% was caused by the US's tariffs on Chinese imports. Moreover, perhaps unsurprisingly, the United States and China have suffered most economically, and in addition to direct tariff costs, they have to bear the indirect tariff burden of approximately 10 and 6.5 billion USD, respectively. This was followed by the EU, Canada and Mexico, which incurred indirect tariff costs of around 700 million to 1.7 billion USD. In addition, the burden on third-party countries is expected to rise by 30%-70%, if we consider the hypothesis of complete tariff pass-through. K E Y W O R D S cumulative tariffs, global value chains, incomplete tariff passthrough, indirect tariffs, Input-Output Model, US-China trade war | 3517 WU et al.

Abstract:Often trumpeted as a bastion of modern economic and political integration, the European Union (EU) has played an integral role in the development of the United Kingdom's (UK) economy. However, in recent times, the relationship between the EU and the UK has become increasingly fragile, particularly on issues of national sovereignty, immigration, and the general bureaucratic reach of Brussels. Tension surrounding these concerns meant that on 23 June 2016, the British public voted, by way of a referendum, to leave the EU. This decision, often referred to as Brexit, has created a watershed moment in the history of the region, with implications that may have a significant impact on not only Europe, but also Asia and the wider global community. In order to make better sense of the issue, this study provides a brief synopsis of Britain's decision to leave the EU, before providing a detailed analysis of how the Brexit decision will impact the Asian region. As part of this discussion, a series of relevant policy issues are considered.

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