TRADE, PROTECTIONISM AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIESThe World Trade Organization refers to an organization established in 1995 with the stated objective of supporting and liberalizing international trade. Although it is in line with free international trade, it allows governments to impose short-term protectionist measures in specific circumstances (Shrybman, 2001). Developed countries have imposed significant protectionist measures since 1975 despite joining the WTO (Takatoshi and Krueger, 1993). An example of justification for protectionism is Russia, which represents one of the strongest developed economies in the world and has been a member of the WTO since August 2012. The effects of its membership can be defined as largely disappointing, at least in the short term, for various reasons. According to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, in the first half of 2013 imports recorded a substantial increase, while trade turnover and exports decreased significantly. As a result, the Eurasian Economic Commission applied protectionist measures against agricultural combine harvesters and light commercial vehicles from several countries (Seeger, 2013). Therefore in the case of Russia protectionism has so far been viewed favorably. Furthermore, a notable example of a developed country taking protectionist measures is the United States against imports from China. The United States took protectionist measures in 2013 to protect itself from patent and trademark infringement by goods imported from China. The U.S. International Trade Commission has conducted Section 337 investigations alleging quasi-judicial trade enforcement against various Chinese electronics companies. Here it should be noted t...... middle of paper ......riers”. Furthermore, the tacit knowledge model is supported by the argument that when individuals come together under conditions that force them to share their ideas, the organization realizes knowledge gains (Dixon, 2000). Therefore, collaboration between international companies and their local partners creates a unique opportunity for companies looking to expand internationally with respect to tacit knowledge gains. A notable example is the joint venture formulated by General Motors and Toyota in 1984 to co-produce automobiles in California. For Toyota, the key benefits were gaining knowledge and experience related to U.S. manufacturing models and understanding U.S. labor management practices, which proved very helpful to the company as it began its manufacturing operations in the United States a few years later (Clegg et al. al, 2011).