Contents



Preface

Global trade is constantly moving and adjusting with the business ecosystem. Advances in technologies, virtualizations of economic activities and business transactions, the openness of transnational borders, regional trade blocs, and worldwide business reforms have facilitated the integration of both small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and multinational corporations (MNCs) into the global trading network. Digitalization has made it easy to order a product from a foreign market and have it delivered right to customers' doors. Accelerated trade among countries has moved from exchanges of raw materials and finished goods to intermediate components of trade-in, value-added products, and services. Though international trade is dominated by trade in goods, the service sector is becoming a more and more important part of international trade. There are, however, different kinds of trends that accelerate or impede global trade. The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted the global supply chain and forced many firms and countries to reorient their businesses towards local or regional markets. Industry 4.0 is another cyber-physical system (CPS) that is also transforming business activities, especially manufacturing industries, with huge implications for the global value chain. Another important project that is transforming the international business ecosystem in Asia, Europe, and Africa is China's trillion-dollar project called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is likely to impact greatly on global trade, even though the project has many critics who doubt its contribution to developing and emerging countries with weak

Global trade today is operating within a rapidly changing ecosystem. This book addresses this emerging phenomenon and explores how business firms can navigate this uncharted territory. It includes ten chapters organized into two sections: "Emerging Trends in the International Business Arena" and "Managing Global

In Chapter 1, Edward Asiedu examines the potential effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agenda for free trade in Africa, both in the short and long term. Specifically, the chapter explores the trading environment of firms in Africa and highlights the challenges faced when implementing a trade agreement in the

In Chapter 2, Muhammad Mohiuddin, Md. Samim Al Azad, Selim Ahmed, Slimane Ed-Dafali, and Mohammad Nurul Hasan Reza explore the evolution of Industry 4.0, how this new technological framework will create values for firms and consumers, and how we can use it for a firm's competitiveness and save it

In chapter 3, Ismahene Yahyaoui evaluates empirically the impact of ICT and economic growth on CO2 emissions of Tunisia and Morocco for the period

Trade Under New Context" written by authors from across the globe.

Section 1: Emerging Trends in the International Business Arena

financial strength.

middle of a pandemic.

from the fallout of its development.
