How do governments, economic communities, and companies participate in the global marketplace?

"The World Trade Organization, established by the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, has dramatically lowered trade barriers worldwide. For the first time, a trade agreement covers services, intellectual property rights, and exchange controls. The World Bank makes loans to developing nations to help build infrastructures. The International Monetary Fund makes loans to member nations that cannot meet their budgetary expenses. The Uruguay Round was a 1994 agreement originally signed by 117 nations to lower trade barriers worldwide. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization established by the Uruguay Round in 1994 to oversee international trade, reduce trade barriers, and resolve disputes among member nations. The World Bank is an international bank that offers low-interest loans, as well as advice and information, to developing nations. International economic communities reduce trade barriers among themselves while often establishing common tariffs and other trade barriers toward nonmember countries. The best-known economic communities are the European Union, NAFTA, CAFTA, and Mercosur. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a 1993 agreement creating a free-trade zone including Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Mercosur is a trade agreement between Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. There are a number of ways to enter the global market. The major ones are exporting, licensing, contract manufacturing, joint ventures, and direct investment. Licensing is the legal process whereby a firm agrees to allow another firm to use a manufacturing process, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary knowledge in exchange for the payment of a royalty. Outsourcing means sending work functions to another country, resulting in domestic workers losing their jobs."