In The News

The Patent Controversy

Rajeev Dhavan December 10, 2004
As India's Parliament rushes through the Third Patents Amendment, the important social justice and equity issues are being ignored, says the author in India’s newspaper, The Hindu. The pressure to pass this law before January 1, 2005 came from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the US, which hold the implicit threat of retaliation and non-compliance under WTO provisions. However, argues...

The EU Loses its Rag

December 8, 2004
Ten years ago, trade negotiators set a deadline to end global quotas on textile exports. But with less than a month before the agreed-upon expiration date, the EU is growing increasingly worried about China's likely dominance of the international textile trade. Yet considering the EU's hopes to install its former trade commissioner as head of the World Trade Organization, efforts to...

Business is Blooming

Peter Willems December 8, 2004
A recent United Nations report shows that Afghanistan's poppy production is reaching worrisome new heights. As newly-inaugurated president Hamid Karzai steps into the spotlight, the problems of opium growth continue to increase. The effort to stop the drug trade has been hampered by local infighting, governmental corruption, and an unsuccessful attempt to wean farmers off the profitable, but...

Europe's China-Play

François Godement December 6, 2004
One of the most controversial issues to be discussed at the 7th annual EU-China Summit will be a 15-year-old arms embargo. The European Union instated the embargo in response to the Tiananmen Massacre of 1989. As China continues its ascent as a world economic power, however, European nations find it harder and harder to maintain a policy based solely on human rights. The financial rewards for...

The Green Beast Is Out of Control

Miranda Devine December 2, 2004
The clout of environmental groups in influencing the decisions of multinational corporations may be greater than is appropriate. US-based animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), through widespread "greenmail" campaigning, has managed to change the policies of Abercrombie and Fitch, among other clothing companies, to the detriment of the Australian wool...

Asia Holds the Key to the Future of GM Food

John Feffer December 2, 2004
Most media coverage of genetically modified (GM) food has centered on disputes between Europe and the United States. "But it is in Asia that the new techno-food will live or die," writes John Feffer. Asia is home to the largest consumer market, as well as the greatest number of farmers in the world. And it must now choose between accepting America's confidence in the safety and...

Bush Backs US Tariffs on Shrimp

Martin Crutsinger December 2, 2004
In a victory for beleaguered US shrimp producers, the Bush administration yesterday upheld the penalty tariffs imposed on Chinese and Vietnamese shrimp imports. The ruling came in a case brought by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which says that artificially low prices from foreign importers have almost ruined the US shrimp industry. But foreign shrimp producers say the US needs imports to meet...