In The News

Will TTIP Harm the Global Trading System?

Katinka Barysch and Michael Heise January 9, 2014
The European Union’s member states form the world’s largest economy followed by the United States. So, the rest of the world is wary about ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. Other trading partners of the US and the EU may have to meet new regulations without having a voice in their making. Or in other areas, the partners may have to deal with two...

Bulgarians and Romanians Free to Work in UK as Controls End

Mark Lowen January 2, 2014
The single market of the European Union is designed to allow most goods, services, money and people to cross borders of member nations. Mechanisms allow gradual introductions, even delays, for transition. Some in the United Kingdom express concern about Bulgarian and Romanian citizens relocating to the United Kingdom after controls in place since 2007 expired, reports Mark Lowen for BBC News. “...

Putin’s Gas-Fueled Bailout of Ukraine

David R. Cameron January 2, 2014
Ukraine’s government has decided to link its fortunes to Russia, accepting a bailout worth billions after the European Union and the International Monetary Fund offered mere millions combined with tough conditions. Russia will settle a disputed gas bill, reduce the price of future gas deliveries, end some customs controls and import quotas recently imposed and provide financial assistance in...

Who Should Lead the Global Economy?

Harold James, Domenico Lombardi December 24, 2013
The major economies of the United States, the European Union and China all have potential for global leadership. “The bigger an economy, the greater its systemic importance, and the more leverage its political representatives have in international decision-making,” explain Harold James and Domenico Lombardi, with the Centre for International Governance Innovation. The United States, the eurozone...

Canadian Pizza Eateries in Bind as Cheese-Import Loophole Closes

Barrie McKenna December 19, 2013
Trade barriers protect industries only briefly. Canada has a 200-plus percent tariff on imported cheeses, designed to protect its diary industry. Restaurants took advantage of a loophole to purchase special cheese-and-pepperoni kits from the United States, but the government revised rules; packages with fresh cheese now include the tariff. “Restaurants have long chafed at special Canadian rules...

NSA Spying: A Threat to US Interests?

Bruce Stokes December 5, 2013
Reports that the US National Security Agency has collected internet and telephone data in Europe could influence negotiations for a proposed Transatlantic Trade and Partnership and require new understanding on rules for the digital economy. Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center, reports on recent surveys: A majority of Americans suggest that it’s...

Putin's Russia: Too Weak to Stop Ukraine Joining Europe, But Will Try

Charles Crawford December 2, 2013
Ukraine finds itself in the middle of an old cultural battleground between Russia and Europe, explains Charles Crawford for the Telegraph. “Ukraine had no independent existence as a state until the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991,” he explains. “In 2004 the ‘Orange Revolution’ saw the first big Ukrainian convulsion over this question after huge popular protests against clumsily rigged...