In The News

Fate of the Farmers in Balance

Edward Gresser November 1, 2005
This December, the WTO is scheduled to convene in Hong Kong, in what could be its final opportunity to adopt the Doha reforms. The negotiators aim to open markets worldwide by cutting the subsidies and tariffs that heavily favor producers in Europe and the United States, but disagreements have repeatedly obstructed their goals. For the average news viewer, the familiar media coverage of loud...

Prepare Now for Sino-Indian Trade Boom

Niraj Dawar October 31, 2005
China and India are natural trading partners, but years of political hostility have prevented the two from taking full advantage of their complementary relationship. That is changing: Sino-Indian trade may skyrocket from $14 billion annual in 2004 to as much as $450 billion in 2010. Multinational corporations now need to change their business models if they hope to profit from this new surge...

Global Europe

Gordon Brown October 27, 2005
As European leaders meet at Hampton Court, British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown writes about a need for a drastically new approach to the EU. After all, the EU was founded to make intra-European trade successful and to integrate the economies of the member countries, not specifically to deal with challenges from outside economic competitors. Brown argues that many of the EU's...

Bolivia Provides a Tragic Lesson for Latin America

Norman Lamont October 21, 2005
Bolivia often escapes the notice of Europeans and Americans, writes Norman Lamont, and the country's current troubles merit much greater international attention. Bolivia has seen several governments overthrown over its recent history, and its likeliest contender for the leadership, Evo Morales, now seems determined to force through measures that will further destabilize the country. Morales...

China Builds Its Dreams, and Some Fear a Bubble

David Barboza October 18, 2005
China is experiencing a building boom, the scope of which means that cities like Shanghai now dwarf New York in terms of skyscrapers and vast networks of upscale apartment complexes. As a result of its unprecedented construction sector growth, China is scouring the world for energy and natural resources so that its cities, 170 of which have more than 1 million people, can meet and surpass Western...

'Protect Regime Now, Feed People Later'

Shim Jae Hoon October 18, 2005
Locked in a food shortage approaching crisis proportions – which reportedly caused two million deaths in the past five years – the government of Kim Jong-il has been wooing neighboring China and its brethren to the South for more far-reaching aid. As Seoul-based journalist Shim Jae Hoon reports, this move comes at the expense of broader, international emergency efforts coordinated by...

Brazil Regrets its China Affair

Matt Moffett October 12, 2005
Two years ago, to much fanfare, China and Brazil entered into a bilateral trade partnership, hoping to propel both populous, ambitious nations to the top of the development heap. With increased exports to China, Brazil made modest economic advances since entering the trade agreement. But in the same period, the world's textile quotas expired, leaving many world economies vulnerable to China...