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Diploma in Higher Education Studies

Trade blocs and the European Union

HES 203 · International Business — Week 4 of 16

CourseHES 203
Week4 of 16
SemesterII
TutorOnline in the course chat

This week’s topics

Trade blocs and the European Union

  1. What a trade bloc is
  2. The EU single market

What you will be able to do

  • 1.3 Explain the purpose of trade blocs (e.g., EU).

Activity

List the benefits of the EU single market for a Belgian company.

Study materials

Further resources

  • Introduction to Business 2e, ch. 3.5: International economic communities · PDF · OpenStax (2026), trade blocs incl. the EU; pp. 88–91 · for registered students
  • Understanding the WTO, ch. 4.1: Regionalism – friends or rivals? · PDF · WTO, trade blocs and customs unions; pp. 63–64 · for registered students
  • The Cost of Non-Europe, Revisited · Open-access article · Mayer et al. (2019), Economic Policy. Estimates how much trade and income EU members would lose without the Single Market. · for registered students
  • One Money, One Market: Estimating the Effect of Common Currencies on Trade · Open-access article · Rose (2000), Economic Policy. Classic study suggesting that sharing a currency boosts trade far more than expected. · for registered students
Materials marked “for registered students” open in the student portal, which is set up as soon as you receive final acceptance.
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Course plan
  • Week 1: What is globalisation?
  • Week 2: Why countries trade
  • Week 3: Global industries
  • Week 4: Trade blocs and the European Union
  • Week 5: Tariffs and quotas
  • Week 6: Going international: exporting and franchising
  • Week 7: Joint ventures and foreign direct investment
  • Midterm: Midterm evaluation
  • Week 9: Culture and business
  • Week 10: Comparing cultures: Hofstede’s dimensions
  • Week 11: Ethics in global supply chains
  • Week 12: Sustainability in business
  • Week 13: Case study: a multinational’s international strategy
  • Week 14: Making recommendations with evidence
  • Week 15: Review and coursework completion
  • Final: Final assessment and submission
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