Global value chains, trade in value added and modification of countries’ international production specialization

Abstract

Nowadays about 80 % of international trade is realized within global value chains coordinated by multinational companies, which simultaneously generate the main part of value added flows in the world. This determines the relevance of the research and the purpose of the article that is to reveal the directions of global value chains influence on the international trade and the countries’ international production specialization, to identify opportunities and risks for integrating countries in the context of their foreign trade development. As a result of the research, the directions of the global value chains influence on the countries’ international production specialization are identified, the opportunities and risks for integrating countries from the standpoint of their foreign trade and specialization development are determined. Many distortions of the international trade development indicators and the role of certain groups of countries in the international trade, resulting from the defining influence of global value chains on its development, are revealed. It is proved that global value chains create a new reality of international trade and international labor division, lead to changes in the trade dynamics, its commodity and geographical structure, as well as significant modification of the countries’ international production specialization.