In The News

A Dangerous Mix of Politics and Trade

Philip Bowring May 23, 2005
China's surging textile exports have recently been subject to international scrutiny, with the United States re-imposing quotas. On Friday, Beijing voluntarily raised its textile export tariffs, a largely symbolic gesture designed to calm nerves overseas while asserting its own sovereignty. These examples of world trade tit-for-tat are not only short-sighted, writes commentator Philip...

Hacker Hunters

Brian Grow May 20, 2005
Computer technology and the interconnectivity of cyberspace have opened multiple avenues for global networking, while producing the underside of this phenomenon: a new wave of organized cybercrime. Criminals the world over are exploiting the ties of the internet to steal identities, forge documents, launder money, and sell stolen goods. As BusinessWeek reports, US and other governmental...

Can China Be Contained?

Jeffrey E. Garten May 19, 2005
In the last three days, the United States government has added new pressures to the Chinese government: The US Department of Treasury demanded a revaluation of the renminbi, and the Commerce Department moved to restrain textile imports from China. One of the defining features of globalization today is the complex way in which countries are economically intertwined, as well as the political...

On Advertising: Lenovo Tries to Win the West

Eric Pfanner May 18, 2005
Only a handful of Chinese brand names have achieved global consumer recognition. More often, many view China as a low-cost producer of Western consumer goods. The fact that Western companies essentially place their logos on goods manufactured in China, preventing Chinese companies from developing name recognition, exacerbates this perception. Lenovo, a major Chinese computer company that...

Of Flying Geese and Sitting Ducks: Brazil Stares, East Asia Takes Off…

Marcos Jank May 17, 2005
While East Asian countries steadily continue their economic development, Latin American nations still trail in achieving sustainable growth. The difference, according to this InfoBrazil commentary, can be attributed to the diverging economic policies of the two regions. Since the 1980s, East Asia has sought to attain global competitiveness by prioritizing exports, outsourcing labor-intensive...

China Hits Out at New US Textile Quota

Richard McGregor May 16, 2005
The expiration of textile quotas on January 1, 2005, saw a slight shift in global garment trade. Though not as drastic a change as many had feared – some of the smaller producers have managed to keep pace with the quota-free market – China's exports increased significantly. Responding to the spike in Chinese exports, the European Union and United States both launched separate...

A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor

May 12, 2005
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has issued an update on its four-year-old report on slavery and other types of forced labor. The new report, issued May 2005, takes a longer view on the issue, describing developments in the last four years and looking toward the future. After defining and identifying the scope of the problem, the group evaluates efforts in the past years to stem the...