In The News

Talks for Peace Deal

August 4, 2003
North Korea should count its friends carefully, says this editorial in Seoul's Korea Herald. During the upcoming talks with the US, China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan, Pyongyang may not be able to lean so heavily on China and Russia to support its demands for aid, economic assistance, and security guarantees from Washington. Realistically, the paper says, the North must come to the...

US Courts' Role in Foreign Feuds Comes Under Fire

Adam Liptak August 3, 2003
Courts in the United States are increasingly being used to adjudicate disputes occurring beyond US orders, explains the New York Times. Some cases involve human rights concerns and also financial compensation: A Scottish woman sued in New York to stop construction of a proposed holocaust memorial in Poland, relatives of Venezuelans killed in Caracas sues the Venezuelan president in a Miami court...

Moving Money from One Pocket to Another

Shada Islam August 1, 2003
Europe's new farm subsidy reform package is not perfect, but it may help break the logjam in the WTO, says Shada Islam, a Brussels-based journalist specializing in EU trade policy. The EU farm reforms replace production subsidies with direct payments to farmers who meet food safety and environmental standards. EU officials argue that "decoupling" subsidies from production will do...

German Companies Look to Iraq

Aaron Kirchfeld August 1, 2003
Germany's efforts to rebuild its once extensive trade relationship with Iraq face many obstacles, not the least of which is residual tensions with the US from the Iraq War. The US and Britain remain reluctant to contract with companies from countries that did not support the coalition. At the same time, the German companies that are receiving contracts remain reluctant to discuss their...

North Korea Agrees to Multilateral Talks

Don Kirk August 1, 2003
After months of diplomatic posturing and much bravado, North Korea and the US have agreed to sit down together to find a way to deal with Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, its security fears, and its urgent need for fuel and food aid. Representatives of China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan will be joining the US and North Korea in multi-lateral talks, a format Washington has insisted upon as...

All's Fair in Love, Trade and FTAs

Honigmann Hong July 31, 2003
Since China's accession into the World Trade Organization, it has indicated that it will not have economic interactions with Taiwan until the 'One China' problem is settled. However, recent statements by a Chinese official seem to suggest Beijing's willingness to engage Taiwan in a free-trade agreement. Although the intentions may not be friendly, the author observes, this may...

Superpower in the South Pacific

C. Raja Mohan July 30, 2003
Australia has long been the premier power in the South Pacific. According to this opinion in an Indian daily, however, Australia is increasingly matching its economic and military capabilities with the political will to exercise its power. The author says that national security concerns are behind Canberra's new policies of intervention and preemption in failing microstates where terrorist...