In The News

Is Equity in Trade an Attainable Goal?

Susan Ariel Aaronson September 15, 2004
As developing countries struggle to survive in the competitive global market, many wonder if the current system is inherently biased against them. Groups like Oxfam International, a prominent development organization, aim to remedy what they regard as structural failures in the world economy by reforming trade relations among nations. Globalization scholar Susan Ariel Aaronson suggests that...

Uncertain Future for Free Trade

Ernesto Zedillo September 15, 2004
WTO members in Geneva recently ratified the Doha Development Agenda July 2004 Package, a group of measures designed to carry out the goals of the 2001 Doha Round. Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and former president of Mexico, suggests that despite laudatory talk from the key negotiators, the recent Geneva agreement contributes little toward advancing...

US to Rejoin Coffee Pact

September 15, 2004
Poverty-stricken coffee farmers in developing countries are struggling with their inability to compete with in the global marketplace. The London-based International Coffee Organization (ICO), an intergovernmental cooperative, has worked to improve conditions for those involved in the coffee trade. The United States, protesting ICO's price controls, pulled out of the collective in the...

The Great Reverse – Part III

Anna Greenspan September 8, 2004
While headlines in the West bemoan job outsourcing to China and India, they ignore a far more profound economic shift: the growth of business partnerships between these two rising economies. In the final installment of our three-part series, "The Great Reverse," globalization scholar Anna Greenspan writes that leaders and entrepreneurs in both Asian countries are bridging political...

A Dissenter on Outsourcing States His Case

Steve Lohr September 7, 2004
The issue of outsourcing has polarized the intellectual community, and the most recent rebuttal comes from Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson. In a soon-to-be published journal article, the distinguished economist challenges the prevailing theory that the US economy will, in the long-term, benefit from all types of trade – outsourcing included. Though the US has not felt widespread negative effects...

First-Class Brand, But Will it Travel?

Ellie Paynter September 7, 2004
Expanding business operations to foreign markets presents many challenges, and in the image-conscious fashion industry, marketing is essential. With the opening of a store in Saudi Arabia, and plans for future locations in Hong Kong and Dubai, luxury store Harvey Nichols has its sights set on international brand recognition. The UK retail group, which allots 40 percent of its budget to public...

Trying to Stay Competitive, Cambodia Joins WTO

Keith Bradsher September 1, 2004
In a few months, the global textile industry will face a major restructuring. The 1974 Microfiber Agreement will be abolished, and with it, production quotas that have artificially protected manufacturers from competition. For many developing countries whose economies rely almost exclusively on textiles, the pressure will be fierce. In an effort to remain competitive in the soon-to-be...