In The News

US Business Interest in Singapore Triples Due to FTA: US Officials

October 8, 2003
Terrorist attacks and activity in Southeast Asia have not deterred American businesses from venturing into Singapore, according to the US ambassador to that city-state. In the past year, US small- and medium-sized businesses have been setting up shop in the country at a quick pace, Ambassador Frank Lavin said. Last month, the US and Singapore signed a free trade agreement (FTA) set to take...

Sushi Rice, California's New Gold Rush

Kay Rentschler October 8, 2003
California is joining the ranks of world class rice producers. Though southern growers have long monopolized the U.S.’s domestic rice industry, California has become second only to Thailand in exports of premium rice. Sacramento Valley is one of only three microclimates in the world, including Japan and Australia, where the high-quality, small grain japonica rice flourishes. This rice...

Brown Tries to Put EU on Growth Path

Larry Elliott October 7, 2003
France, Germany, and Britain agree: The EU must embrace capitalism to create new jobs, foster investment, and boost economic performance across the continent. A letter drafted by British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown with his French and German counterparts will seek to persuade Europe to reform its welfare state framework. Europe, the letter argues, needs to implement supply-side...

Africa's Betting Public Lures Foreign Investors

Marc Lacey October 7, 2003
People across the world's poorest continent are gambling their limited incomes on scratch-off cards and lotto tickets. As countries ease betting restrictions to encourage economic growth, foreign companies have begun investing in Africa's new blossoming industry. "The African market is a relatively small part of the world market," one British investor noted, "but it...

A Missing Statistic: U.S. Jobs That Went Overseas

Louis Uchitelle October 5, 2003
As US politicians blame each other for the country's high unemployment rate, a key question remains unanswered: how much of the recent job loss can be blamed on cheap overseas labor? Although estimates vary, most economists agree that of the 2.81 million jobs lost since the US economic slump began, at least fifteen percent have gone overseas. American companies can save as much as fifty...

Asians Fear Rising US Protectionism

Michael Richardson October 3, 2003
On the eve of the annual summit of Asia-Pacific nations, many Asian countries are expressing worry over US trade policy, says Michael Richardson, a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore. US President George W. Bush will be welcomed at the APEC (Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation) conference later this month in the midst of what will likely be...

Competition of Legal Systems

Joachim Jahn October 3, 2003
European Union businesses have a new kind of freedom to look forward to: they can choose their own legal forms. The European Court has ruled that new business owners in EU countries may choose which country’s legal forms they want, effectively allowing them much more freedom in terms of regulation. Critics say the decision will ensure lower regulation standards, since some EU countries have...