Syllabus
Registration via LPIS
| Day | Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10/18/22 | 12:30 PM - 03:30 PM | TC.5.12 |
| Wednesday | 10/19/22 | 04:00 PM - 07:00 PM | D1.1.074 |
| Thursday | 10/20/22 | 04:30 PM - 07:30 PM | D2.0.382 |
| Friday | 10/21/22 | 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM | D3.0.222 |
| Monday | 10/24/22 | 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM | TC.5.18 |
| Tuesday | 10/25/22 | 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM | D2.0.382 |
| Thursday | 10/27/22 | 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM | TC.5.04 |
| Friday | 10/28/22 | 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM | TC.5.18 |
Economic and trade sanctions are increasingly used to promote policy goals such as reducing the power of regimes considered to constitute a security threat or governments that violate the human rights of their citizens. The February 2022 sanctions against Russia for its military incursion into Ukraine is an example. Sanctions can be unilateral or multilateral and endeavor to either diminish access to the financial system or impose trade restrictions such as banning exports of technology or imports from a region. Businesses and organizations should have an understanding of how individuals, entities and countries are subject to sanctions. But in addition, businesses should recognize geo-political trends to strategize where economic and sanctions and trade sanctions might be heading. This can help businesses plan for future investments and avoid potential targets of sanctions and penalties for noncompliance. Therefore, proper sanctions understanding is essential because 1) a business should not conduct any transactions involving sanctioned parties as that risks penalties and 2) such understanding will help to avoid reputational damage as well as advancement of ESG goals. This course will serve both goals. Students will learn about the various economic and trade sanctions which are increasingly being discussed and imposed as well as the mechanisms used to levy the sanctions. Students will also gain an understanding of the geo-economic forces and trends that are affecting international business. This course will be of interest to individuals interested in global business and interested in the intersection of geo-economics, foreign policy and economic commerce.
By the end of the course, students be able to: (1) will have a firm understanding of the current global economic architecture; (2) understand how unilateral and multi-lateral sanctions have been employed in recent years; (3) identify new dimensions of economic and trade sanctions; and (4) learn how Central Bank Digital Currencies might affect economic and trade sanctions in the future.
Students are expected to attend the course in full and actively participate in all course meetings. It is mandatory to attend at least 80% of the sessions in order to pass the course.
There are three components. One, students will be assigned reading material (mostly business/international economic/law journals) which will have specific pages to read. These journal articles will have been mostly published in peer-reviewed SSCI or ESCI journals as well as highly ranked U.S. journals. Students will not need to read footnotes just the text. This will form the basis of knowledge for the students to understand the topics for each class and the lecture. Each lecture will be based on the readings (and supplemented by any current developments) and the readings are designed to ensure the students will fully comprehend the lecture. Two, the reading is designed to serve as the basis for the discussion part of the class. While I will provide the salient points in the lecture, it is my teaching philosophy to encourage vigorous classroom participation. This helps ensure the students comprehended the reading material and allows them to raise questions and engage in vigorous discussion with their classmates. Three, there will be a class where the students (working in teams) represent a side on either a sanctions or trade sanction issue. For example, I might raise the question of trade sanctions over alleged human rights issues in Xinjiang. One team will represent Western nations imposing the sanctions. A second team will represent an EU business with a supply chain in Xinjiang and a third team will represent China. This will also help ensure that they further develop critical thinking skills as they discuss each side of a question.
| Unit | Date | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Class 1 | Global Financial and Economic Architecture The class will introduce the ‘rules-based’ U.S. global architecture that encompasses international economic and trade governance institutions. The basis of this class will serve as the basis of the course. Students will learn about and discuss the following sub-topics:
Break U.S. Dollar Centric Order
Reading Material: Joel Slawotsky, The National Security Exception in US-China FDI and Trade: Lessons from Delaware Corporate Law, https://academic.oup.com/cjcl/article/6/2/228/5265145 (Editor’s Choice) Click on PDF option, pages 239-245 Joel Slawotsky, US Financial Hegemony: The Digital Yuan and Risks of Dollar De-Weaponization, https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol44/iss1/4/ Click on PDF option, pages 53-64. |
| 2 | Class 2 | US Dollar and the ‘Exorbitant Privilege’ to Sanction This class will go into detail regarding the basis of sanctions imposed by the United States which remains the largest global economy with significant influence over finance. Students will learn about the U.S. Treasury’s SDN List and the mechanics of U.S. sanctions imposed by the U.S. as well as how the U.S. enlists allies and the SWIFT messaging system to comply. The class will also go beyond the mechanics and look at some of the ideological basis such as the U.S. attempt to use sanctions as a replacement for war. This is also timely insofar as the sanctions on Russia can be understood as a replacement for military action. Students will learn about and discuss the following sub-topics:
Break
Reading Material: Joel Slawotsky, US Financial Hegemony: The Digital Yuan and Risks of Dollar De-Weaponization, https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol44/iss1/4/ Click on PDF option, pages 64-81 |
| 3 | Class 3 | Trade Sanctions This class will focus on trade sanctions which are exemplified in U.S. and allied trade restrictions on products from Xinjiang over human rights claims. U.S. and EU trade sanctions are also developing with respect to Russia and will be discussed as relevant. Trade sanctions impact global supply chains and might also have economic influences. An important question is whether trade sanctions violate trade rules or investment agreements such as Bilateral Investment Treaties which prohibit restrictions unless an exception exists such as defense to national security. The emerging re-conceptualization of security – once understood as military defense but now has expanded greatly - is a slippery slope. Students will learn about and discuss the following sub-topics:
Break
Reading Material: Joel Slawotsky, The New Dimension of Human Rights in Global Trade, (forthcoming in Journal of World Trade, August 2022) will be provided to students, assigned reading pages TBA. Joel Slawotsky, The Fusion of Ideology, Technology and Economic Power: Implications of the Emerging New United States National Security Conceptualization, https://academic.oup.com/chinesejil/article/20/1/3/6277710?login=true (Editor’s Choice) Click on PDF option, pages 15-60 (also relevant for Class 4) |
| 4 | Class 4 | The Dilemma of Business Decisions Businesses are caught in the middle of sanctions. For example, businesses might be under an obligation to comply with home state trade sanctions on China but will lose market share and may suffer long-term reputational harm in China. But businesses might suffer reputational harm and of course fines by not complying. China can also retaliate economically against these businesses. In contexts where there is no law or reputation the issue is also complicated by enhanced ethical concerns. Other contexts are also relevant Nord 2 for example. Students will learn about and discuss the following sub-topics:
Reading Material: Joel Slawotsky, The New Dimension of Human Rights in Global Trade, (forthcoming in Journal of World Trade, August 2022) will be provided to students, assigned reading pages TBA |
| 5 | Class 5 | Student Presentations |
| 6 | Class 6 | Age of International Economic Competition There is currently an intensive economic competition. The nominal GDP of the U.S. remains the biggest but China is catching-up. Indeed, on a Purchasing Power Parity basis China is already the biggest. How does that competition affect economic and trade sanctions? Are sanctions just an excuse for economic nationalism? Are for example tariffs imposed by the U.S. against allies really about national security? Is economic superiority the same as economic security? Students will learn about and discuss the following sub-topics:
Reading Material: Joel Slawotsky, U.S. Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in an Age of International Economic Strategic Competition, https://www.law.georgetown.edu/international-law-journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2021/06/GT-GJIL210017.pdf pages 442-455 |
| 7 | Class 8 | Central Bank Digital Currencies and the US Dollar Centric System The introduction of CBDCs is transformative. Data collection, the possibility of freezing wallets, targeted spending and the possibility of direct accounts with central banks are all potential outcomes of CBDCs. Moreover, CBDCs might make sanctions either easier or harder to impose. CBDCs might also erode the centrality of the U.S. dollar if other CBDCs such as China’s digital Yuan are accepted for trade. Students will learn about and discuss the following sub-topics:
Reading Material: Joel Slawotsky, US Financial Hegemony: The Digital Yuan and Risks of Dollar De-Weaponization, https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol44/iss1/4/ Click on PDF option, pages 81-89 There will be another article with assigned reading focusing on CBDCs |
| 8 | Class 7 | Final Exam |
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