In The News

Backing Down on Steel Tariffs, U.S. Strengthens Trade Group

David E. Sanger December 5, 2003
The fight over US steel tariffs, writes David Sanger in the New York Times, will go down in history as the case that defines the World Trade Organization's power. No case in the eight year history of the WTO has tested its power to quite the same degree, but now it has been tested – and won. Last week President Bush was forced to eliminate steel tariffs that the WTO ruled illegal after the...

Security Key Factor in Japan-ASEAN Relations

Bantarto Bandoro December 4, 2003
Japan may soon overhaul its relationship with ASEAN. The country is expected to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation at an upcoming summit, an act that will deepen Japan's role in regional political affairs. According to this editorial in The Jakarta Post, Japan is concerned that its political and economic influence in Southeast Asia will diminish as China's presence continues to...

Goh Urges Portugal to Renew Old Ties

Tan Tarn How December 4, 2003
Seeking to build on linguistic and historical ties to Portugal, Singapore's Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, visited Lisbon to expand bilateral relations. "We welcome you in Asia, like you are welcoming us in Europe," Tong said. Singapore is already one of Portugal’s biggest investors, although trade between the countries has so far been modest. Being at the forefront of an economic...

Kyoto's Not Dead Yet

December 3, 2003
A senior advisor to Russia's President Putin, Andrei Illarionov, declared this week that Russia was never going to sign on the Kyoto Protocol that aims to limit greenhouse gases. Fortunately for the treaty, Illarionov does not have the final word, and Putin himself has indicated that Russia would be willing to ratify. It seems likely that the Russians are hesitating on Kyoto out of the...

A New Opportunity in Cancun's Failure

Balakrishnan Rajagopal December 3, 2003
The failure of September's global trade talks in Cancun may have indicated disagreement on a global level, but the unified voice of a small coalition of countries showed that smaller scale negotiations can be very effective. The emergence of the G-22 bloc of smaller countries, says development expert Balakrishnan Rajagopal, harkens back to the Bandung meeting of 29 formerly colonized...

Steel Tariffs Reported On Way Out

David Roeder December 2, 2003
President Bush is likely to avert a trade war by lifting the tariffs he imposed on imported steel in March of 2002. Bush originally established the duties to prevent the loss of steelworkers' jobs. However, keeping the tariffs would likely damage the economy far more by sparking a trade war with the European Union and Japan, both of whom threatened to retaliate by putting $2.3 billion...

Canada's View on Social Issues Is Opening Rifts With the U.S.

Clifford Krauss December 2, 2003
A long running joke among Americans has been that Canada will eventually become the 51st state, so alike are the attitudes and attributes of the two populations. In recent years, however, a chasm has grown between the neighbors with issues such as gay marriage, drug use, and church attendance revealing growing division on fundamental values. Canada has increasingly taken the progressive route,...