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.