In The News

Pakistanis Fume as Clothing Sales to the U.S. Tumble

Keith Bradsher June 23, 2002
Local and domestic interests are often at odds with broad issues of global concern. However, a recent New York Times dispatch from Pakistan shows how competing global policies can also create conflict in the local sphere, resulting in global ramifications. By pursuing trade 'fast-track' authority, the Bush administration has adopted a course of action that could directly impinge upon...

Foreign Distillers Seek to Slake India's Thirst

Saritha Rai May 5, 2002
Diminished social disapproval of alcohol consumption among India's middle class, coupled with a national economy increasingly open to foreign investment, is attracting big foreign distillers to India. For decades, India vigilantly regulated foreign investment, choosing instead to bolster and develop its local industries. With increased pressure from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to...

Auto Parts Makers Grinding to a Halt

Danny Hakim April 30, 2002
The globalization of automobile parts production and the search for a bigger bottom line have been putting pressure on suppliers all over the world. In this story, the New York Times profiles a Michigan auto-part manufacturer who is losing his business to a foreign supplier. “General Motors, Ford and Chrysler used to develop all of their work in their backyard. Now, it's go on the Internet...

An Age-Old Quest Could Be at an End: Chinese Hail Viagra

Elisabeth Rosenthal April 23, 2002
Traditional Chinese medicine has several treatments for curing impotence, or simply for stimulating more sexual energy. Two years ago, however, Viagra was made legal and introduced in China with immediate success. There are certain parts of China where Viagra is sold almost everywhere – including candy stores and soda stands. However, as Viagra’s demand grows, so does the production of imitation...

Leaner Factories, Fewer Workers Bring More Labor Unrest to China

Erik Eckholm March 19, 2002
China’s shift away from economic isolation has begun to take its toll on communist workers. Accustomed to government promises of job security, newly unemployed workers at state-owned factories are voicing their concerns through strikes and large-scale protests. Employees at the Daqing Oil Company were told months ago that the collapse of the oil industry would likely force massive layoffs....

Bush Weighs Raising Steel Tariffs but Exempting Most Poor Nations

David E. Sanger March 4, 2002
The American steel industry, once booming, is now on the verge of failure. Unions and major steel companies are calling on President Bush to save steel jobs by imposing high tariffs on all steel imports. Bush faces a sticky political situation. Tariffs – which contradict the free trade principles that Bush advocates – would likely alienate international allies in Europe and Asia that Bush...

A Gas Pipeline to the World Outside

Wayne Arnold October 26, 2001
Villagers in Thailand’s Taling Chan district have organized in an attempt to stop the planned construction of a natural gas pipeline. They fear the pipeline and its attendant support operations will industrialize their village and threaten their lifestyle. The pipeline, which would carry gas from Thailand to Malaysia, is cited as another example of the intrusiveness of globalization and its...