THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS RESTRUCTURING

Abstract

The article analyzes the international production of multinational enterprises (MNEs). It presents some theoretical approaches to the analysis of international production, such as fragmentation theory, global value chains (GVCs) theory. The article argues that at the present stage of the world economy internationalization, there are two trends in the localization of MNEs global chains. The first trend indicates a slowdown of GVCs growth in the last seven years. The second trend characterizes the restructuring of GVCs. It indicates the backward movement of certain international production fragments to the MNEs home countries. Among the major factors that have slowed the growth of international MNEs production, the article analyzes the political instability and low economic dynamics of some FDI exporting countries. Changes in the location of global value chains are driven by technological, economic and geopolitical factors. Fourth industrial revolution, the robotization of production and new technologies for shale oil and gas in the US are changing the traditional determinants for GVCs localization. They have caused the relocation of many businesses from countries with the cheap labour to MNEs home countries. The article also highlights that the important factors of GVCs restructuring are the fiscal mechanisms implemented by the US administration, including tax reform. But the short-term and long-term effects of such measures differ significantly. Finally, the third important factor in the dynamics and restructuring of multinational enterprise network production is the geopolitical risk and political uncertainty. The trade war between the US and China has had a particularly significant impact on the current global value chains rebuilding.