European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - Essay Example Three out of the four EFTA members – all excluding Switzerland – are now members of the EEA (European Economic Area) Accord, linking the EC and EFTA countries for the purposes of multi lateral trade. The trend towards globalization of the world economy is promoted through the scheme of generalized tariff preferences (GSP) of the four members of the European Free trade Association. This scheme allows for preferential tariff arrangements among the trading countries of the EFTA and the EC which resulted in savings of $1.5 billion in preferential imports in 1980 (Brown 1989). The EFTA has fewer such preferential arrangements with other countries as compared to the EC and is therefore less restrictive in choosing the beneficiaries of preferential trading arrangements. Brown (1989) has provided the preferential tariff margins for 22 countries, listing all the major beneficiaries of this system, under which the payment of import duty is suspended on industrial products and small reductions in tariffs are available for some agricultural products. Manufactured and semi manufactured goods enjoy higher amounts of reductions in tariff. This provides a significant boost to free trade in the international context. The salient difference between the countries of the European Community and the EFTA countries lies in the degree to which they are willing to share sovereignty. The countries of the European Free Trade Association wanted to restrict the limits of their cooperation with other European countries to that of economic cooperation, while members of the EC were willing to hand over some of their sovereignty and autonomy over their own affairs in order to receive some concessions in influencing the policies of other countries in exchange.(Henning et al, p 86). For the four countries that are still members of the EFTA however, maintaining their autonomy and sovereignty is of supreme importance and they

Making a Choice in US News Media's Top Stories Essay

Making a Choice in US News Media's Top Stories - Essay Example Each news network must present what the viewers like hearing thus, Fox presents more of Iraq success than CNN and MSNBC. This is because many of the republicans do not like stories that pertain to the Iraq war. The US media is facing blames for its lack of consistency and validity. True to mention, celebrities are what the growing generation likes to hear. There are issues that every citizen should be aware of. It is the duty of news media to present and use their time appropriately, as they present what is of essence to the citizens. The book written by Schechter Danny and Dadge David tells a story of a war that should have been presented to the citizens but instead has been abetted by what the authors refer to as the nominally â€Å"free† media. It appears that the government has power to limit what the US citizens should here. Instead of allowing for the presentation of the news, it turned to be a place of bullying of the representatives of the news media to disrupt any cri tical reporting. Since the administration well understood how the media operates, it put in place strategies that disrupted any counter-narrative that emerged with the aim of challenging the storyline presented by the administration. This shows how citizens are hindered from receiving stories that would be beneficial to them. As Schechter and Dadge wrote their book, the Iraq war was still in progress and believed that the coverage leaves so much that citizens can desire. The authors wish for an opportunity through a campaign to tell the truth as pertain to the war. This book shows how news media are denied the opportunity to present the truth to the citizens. The authors, in introducing their book... Today's news media refers to all forms of mass communication ranging from television, newspapers, radio, magazines, and the internet. It is through these forms that people gain access to information and news. It is evident as times change that media plays a bigger role in the lives of people all over. As media performs these roles and technology advancing so fast, there are numerous issues surrounding the efficiency, integrity, and limits of media. An understanding of the issues will help every nation to regulate news media effectively. This essay focuses on criticizm, that the today's media faces for its inefficiency in addressing issues and failure to uphold integrity, with each type of media working tirelessly to compete effectively in the market. With the uneven distribution of technological advancement, news to citizen varies with the news network. With more concern directed to what news media refer to as â€Å"hot stories†, citizens in the US are denied access to importa nt happenings that they should be aware of. In conclusion of this essay, the researcher used a few articles to prove that it is crucial for citizens to make right choice of news media depending on the news they would like to hear. This is because each media has its target. News media must understand that US citizen need to stay informed of local and foreign news. Therefore, addressing top stories helps in keeping citizens updated. Implementation of these issues will see the media go a long way towards realization of its goals.