Thomas Friedman
In the Opening Case (pp 35-36) there is a discussion of Russia as a world economic player even in the face of a downgrade in its economic freedom since its early post-Soviet days. Find credible sources (not wikipedia or business learning sites) to update the Russia international economic scenario after their recent invasion of Ukraine – what European, US, and Asian corporations have (or have not) stopped doing business, sold their interests, or restricted sales with respect to Russia as a part of US and other world sanctions? How large are these economic losses to Russia and to the companies in question? Read this story in Foreign Policy from 2020; did they see any of this coming? Explain.
In Emerging Markets 2.2 in the chapter, there is reference to Thomas Friedman, a pro-globalization writer for the New York Times – what is Friedman’s McDonald’s or Dell Theory and how does the Foreign Policy author characterize Friedman’s ideas in the face of an aggressive Russian regime?
Sample Solution
Companies that have stopped doing business with Russia
- Apple: Apple has suspended all product sales in Russia and limited Apple Pay and other services.
- Boeing: Boeing has suspended parts and maintenance services to Russian airlines.
- BP: BP has sold its stake in Rosneft, the Russian oil company.
- ExxonMobil: ExxonMobil has withdrawn from its joint venture with Rosneft.
- General Motors: General Motors has suspended all exports to Russia and halted production at its plant in St. Petersburg.
- Google: Google has suspended advertising in Russia and restricted access to some YouTube channels.
- IKEA: IKEA has closed all of its stores in Russia and suspended all deliveries to the country.
- Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz has suspended all deliveries to Russia and halted production at its plant in Moscow.
- Nestlé: Nestlé has stopped exporting its products to Russia and limited its operations in the country.
- Shell: Shell has withdrawn from its joint ventures with Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company.
- Toyota: Toyota has suspended production at its plant in St. Petersburg and halted exports to Russia.
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen has suspended production at its plant in Kaluga and halted exports to Russia
