Browsing by Author "Frederick, S"

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Open Access
Bahrain’s Position in the Global Apparel Value Chain: How the U.S.-Bahrain FTA and PTLs Shape Future Development Options
(2016-01-11) Gereffi, G; Frederick, S; Bair, J
This report analyzes the situation of Bahrain’s industry and its prospects in light of the looming TPL expiration. The Bahraini industry oriented to the U.S. market contains two distinct segments: textile manufacturers, which own spinning, weaving and finishing mills in Bahrain, and rely on TPL for a relatively small portion (just over a third) of the final products they exports to the United States; and apparel companies, which currently rely on TPL for 100% of their garment exports to the United States, since these contain fabrics and yarn from third party countries, such as China. The apparel companies currently exporting to the U.S. from Bahrain are owned by foreign firms, they employ predominantly migrant workers from South Asia, and they have other production locations in the Gulf region, including Jordan and Egypt. Consequently, if garment manufacturers are unable to receive duty-free access to the U.S. market once TPLs expire in 2016, they are unlikely to stay in the country, in contrast to the textile companies, whose investments in Bahrain are far more significant. The report contains a series of recommendations regarding different ways in which Bahrain might continue to receive limited exemptions from the yarn-forward rules of origin after 2016. These proposals include, but are not limited to, an extension of the current benefit.
Open Access
Diverse paths of upgrading in high-tech manufacturing: Costa Rica in the electronics and medical devices global value chains
(Transnational Corporations, 2019-01-01) Gereffi, G; Frederick, S; Bamber, P
© 2019 UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. All rights reserved. Costa Rica has sought to improve its position in the global economy by prioritizing export growth in two high-tech manufacturing industries led by foreign direct investment (FDI): electronics and medical devices. We use a global value chain (GVC) perspective to identify key commonalities and contrasts in Costa Rica's performance in upgrading these two sectors. Because the electronics and medical devices GVCs have very different structures in Costa Rica (electronics is dominated by a single large firm, Intel, whereas medical devices has a highly diversified set of foreign manufacturers), multiple forms of upgrading, downgrading and knowledge spillovers are possible. Although the experience of these two industries illustrates different paths to upgrading, developing backward linkages in Costa Rica was not the preferred nor the only way of moving up the value chain. The medical devices sector exhibited more traditional knowledge spillovers and labor market features of local industrial agglomerations, whereas the electronics sector demonstrated significant wage and skill-level gains because of the incorporation of high-value service activities due to the evolving global strategy of its GVC lead firm, Intel. By combining a GVC perspective with a focus on knowledge flows and value creation at the local level, we seek to promote more explicit integration of international business and economic geography concepts and methods.
Open Access
E-Commerce and Industrial Upgrading in the Chinese Apparel Value Chain
(Journal of Contemporary Asia, 2019-01-01) Li, F; Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
© 2018, © 2018 Journal of Contemporary Asia. The economic and social gains from electronic commerce (e-commerce) that promote innovation, industry upgrading and economic growth have been widely discussed. China’s successful experience with e-commerce has had a positive effect in transforming consumer-goods sectors of the economy and motivating economic reform. This article looks at how e-commerce reduces barriers to entry and enables firms to move up the value chain by using the global value chain framework to analyse the impact of e-commerce on the upgrading trajectories and governance structures of China’s apparel industry. For large Chinese brands, e-commerce has enabled end-market diversification. For small- and medium-sized enterprises, e-commerce has facilitated entry with functional upgrading as well as end-market upgrading. In the “two-sided markets” created by platform companies, the “engaged consumers” are the demand side of this market, and “e-commerce focused apparel firms” are the supply side of the new market. Consumers and platforms are more directly involved in value creation within this emerging internet-based structure.
Open Access
Regional trade agreements and export competitiveness: The uncertain path of Nicaragua's apparel exports under CAFTA
(Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 2015-01-01) Frederick, S; Bair, J; Gereffi, G
© 2015 The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been a mixed blessing for economic development. While exports to the US economy have increased, dependency may hinder economic growth if countries do not diversify or upgrade before temporary provisions expire. This article evaluates the impact of the temporary Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) granted to Nicaragua under CAFTA and the consequences of TPL expiration. Using trade statistics, country- and firm-level data from Nicaragua's National Free Zones Commission (CNZF) and data from field research, we estimate Nicaragua's apparel sector will contract as much as 30-40% after TPLs expire. Our analysis underscores how rules of origin and firm nationality affect where and how companies do business, and in so doing, often constrain sustainable export growth.
Open Access
The Philippines in the Aerospace Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Bamber, P; Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
Open Access
The Philippines in the Aerospace Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Bamber, P; Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
This report uses the Duke CGGC Global Value Chain (GVC) framework to examine the role of the Philippines in the global aerospace industry and identify opportunities for the country to upgrade. The Philippines is a newcomer to the growing global aerospace manufacturing industry. Although the country has been host to a major flight controls manufacturer since 1985, the industry really only began to expand within the past five to ten years. During this recent period (2007-2014), the country has rapidly ramped up its aerospace manufacturing exports, reaching US$604 million in 2014 and more than tripling employment. The industry now employs 3,000 full time and 3,000 part time workers. Although still a very small player, accounting for less than 0.15% of the global industry, this incipient growth is promising. Both foreign firms and local suppliers that have established operations in the industry have already achieved some degree of upgrading within a short timeframe. These include expanding the product lines served, obtaining essential process certifications and upgrading beyond basic assembly operations to undertake additional manufacturing processes such as machining as well as initiating procurement and engineering functions in country.
Open Access
The Philippines in the Automotive Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Sturgeon, T; Daly, J; Frederick, S; Bamber, P; Gereffi, G
This report uses the Duke CGGC Global Value Chain (GVC) framework to examine the role of the Philippines in the global automotive industry and identify opportunities for upgrading. The country’s strength in the sector is in electrical and electronic automotive components, with approximately two-thirds of its US$3.98 billion exports in 2014 falling in one of these categories. The Philippines has a particularly strong foothold in wire harnesses, exports of which increased by 129% from 2007 to 2014 to allow it to become the world’s fourth largest global exporter. The prominence of the cluster affords the country a number of upgrading opportunities moving forward. Otherwise, the relatively small size of the domestic market has constrained the development of the industry, with local companies unable to generate the economies of scale necessary to compete in an increasingly consolidated global environment.
Open Access
The Philippines in the Automotive Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Sturgeon, T; Daly, J; Frederick, S; Bamber, P; Gereffi, G
Open Access
The Philippines in the Chemical Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Bamber, P; Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
This report uses the Duke CGGC global value chain (GVC) framework to examine the role of the Philippines in the global chemical industry and identify opportunities for the country to upgrade. The Philippine chemicals sector is growing rapidly alongside economic expansion and a revival in manufacturing. By 2013, the chemicals sector as a whole accounted for 6.7% of GDP. Chemicals exports reached US$2.2 billion in 2014, approximately 3.5% of the country’s export basket. The sector’s expansion has outpaced both global and regional trade; with a compound annual growth rate of 13% since 2007, three times as fast as global exports, and twice as fast as Asian regional exports. Participation in the export market is based primarily on commodity products in the oleochemicals and petrochemicals sub-sectors. Within these segments, exports are driven by a small number of products, with the top 10 accounting for approximately threequarters of all exports. While the country is a small player in the global chemicals trade, accounting for just 0.2% of exports in 2014, it has generally been successful in carving out a presence in these niche products, and is one of the global leaders in most of its top product categories.
Open Access
The Philippines in the Chemical Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Bamber, P; Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
Open Access
The Philippines in the Electronics & Electrical Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
Open Access
The Philippines in the Electronics & Electrical Global Value Chain
(2016-05-20) Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
This report uses the Duke CGGC global value chain (GVC) framework to examine the role of the Philippines in the global electronics & electrical (E&E) industry and identify opportunities to upgrade. Electronics and electrical equipment have played an important role in the Philippine economy since the 1970s and form the foundation of the country’s export basket today. In 2014, these sectors accounted for 47% of total exports from the Philippines at US$28.8 billion, of which 41% was from electronics, and 6% from electrical products. From a global perspective, while the Philippines is not the leading exporter in any particular product category, it is known for its significant number of semiconductor assembly and test (A&T) facilities. The global economic crisis (2008-09), combined with the exit of Intel (2009), had a significant negative impact on electronics exports and, although steadily increasing, they have not yet rebounded to pre-crisis levels. Nonetheless, investment in the E&E industries has picked up since 2010; in the past five years, there have been 110 new investments in these sectors. Another positive sign is the low exit rate; with the exception of Intel, companies that have invested in the Philippines have stayed, with several operations dating back to the late 1970s and 1980s. These firms have not only stayed, but have continued to grow and expand in the country due to the quality of the workforce and satisfaction with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) environment. The growth of the industry has significantly benefited from foreign investment and close ties with Japanese firms.
Open Access
Upgrading and restructuring in the global apparel value chain: why China and Asia are outperforming Mexico and Central America
(International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2011) Frederick, S; Gereffi, G
This article uses the global value chain approach to analyse the upgrading trajectories of leading apparel exporters adapting to the end of textile and apparel quotas and the economic recession. These events have been coupled by the consolidation and reconfiguration of global supply chains. China has been the big winner while other Asian suppliers are expanding their roles, largely at the expense of regional suppliers. One key to Asia's competitive success vis-à-vis Mexico and Central America has been end market diversification. Regional trade agreements (NAFTA; DR-CAFTA) have provided the latter with preferential access to the US market and ties to brand manufacturers, but they also created a reliance on US exports and have hindered suppliers from developing regional linkages into textile production, apparel design and branding. Growing apparel demand in emerging Asian economies and a regionally integrated production network has allowed Chinese apparel suppliers to upgrade and expand global market share. Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.