If you’re looking for a Christmas stocking filler for the international trade aficionado in your life, or just want to read more about business and global politics over the Christmas period, the Daily Update has you covered.
We bring you five book recommendations from the staff of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, covering everything from shipping and sanctions to export controls and geopolitics.
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, by Marc Levinson
Marco Forgione, director general
I don’t think it’s appreciated how much the invention of the simple container box changed international trade, and therefore the world.
In this highly readable account of the decade-long battle with unions, shippers and manufacturers, Marc Levinson explains how American businessman Malcom McClean invented the intermodal shipping container. McClean’s invention of a stackable container box revolutionised global trade by making it simpler, easier and safer to ship goods around the world on large container vessels. Levinson explains simply and clearly both the technical aspects of the container box and how it made such a large impact on our everyday lives.
The Box is a fascinating story about both trade and the entrepreneurial spirit. We’re still living in the world McClean invented, so if you want to understand more about how much trading has changed since his invention, read this book.
How Africa Trades, edited by David Luke
Grace Thompson, UK public affairs lead
Africa is an incredible continent, with fast-growing economies driven partially by African countries being forecast to account for 28 of the 30 fastest growing working age populations. According to the Department for Business and Trade’s Global Trade Outlook, published earlier this year, Africa is forecast to be the fastest-growing region after South Asia, with total GDP growing by 3.4% a year.
Yet, the continent of Africa is often overlooked in discussions about strategic relationships for the UK. It also frustrates me hugely when I hear people talk about trading with ‘Africa’, as if every country within Africa operates in exactly the same way. It frustrates me even more when people dismiss the continent as being ‘high risk’ in terms of trading, without qualifying why, or counterbalancing with the huge opportunities available.
‘How Africa Trades’ is a series of essays examining many aspects of Africa trade: from Africa’s role in the World Trade Organization, to how Covid-19 affected ‘formal trade’, to examining the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the book is jam-packed with information for the uninitiated and colourful graphs and charts for those of us who are more visual!
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, by Pietra Rivoli
Ilona Kawka, senior digital trade and customs consultant
Inspired by students protesting the sweatshops that produced low quality goods, Peitra Rivoli’s page-turning account of how a normal t-shirt is made highlights many important topics about globalisation.
The book follows a t-shirt from its beginning as cotton grown in Texas, to production in a Chinese factory, to a shop in Florida, all the way to a second-hand clothing market in Africa, exploring how the global economy really works along the way.
A business professor at Georgetown, Rivoli explores the political, commercial and business implications of buying and selling a simple white t-shirt, the kind that we wear everyday.
Despite the changes that have taken place since The Travels of a T-Shirt was first published in 2005, it is still an insightful look into the sheer scale of today’s global trade networks.
Crusading for Globalization: US Multinationals and Their Opponents Since 1945, by Janick Marina Schaufelbuehl
Fergus McReynolds, EU and international director
Today’s battles over protectionism, international trade and economic security are nothing new. Schaufelbuehl’s heavy but readable tome covers the eight decades-long battle over globalisation.
Arrayed on one side are a wealthy group of US business executives, leading some of the largest corporations. On the other, labour unions, members of the global south and domestic industries, all fighting over the economic soul of their regions, nations and continents.
Schaufelbuehl writes a ground-breaking story of the early anti-globalisation movement and how their influence was curbed by the executives, covering how this continues to impact us in the current day. Many parts of the international trading system were forged in the heats of these fires, including the World Trade Organization itself.
So, if you want a book about this titanic struggle, you couldn’t do better than Crusading for Globalisation.
Chokepoints: How the Global Economy Became a Weapon of War by Edward Fishman
Phil Adnett, senior editor
Shortlisted for the FT’s business book of the year, Chokepoints is the story of the last few years in international trade.
It brims with stories from the frontlines of trade and economic security, looking at how Russia, China and other nations upended the international order and how the US and its allies struck back.
Edward Fishman, a long-standing US diplomat, takes us around the world and looks at how modern day economic chokepoints – critical minerals, microchips and the US dollar – have become key battlegrounds for the future of international trade. If you want a thrilling read on the economics arms race that has developed over the last few years, this is the book for you.
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