In The News

China Eases Foreign Entry into Bank Sector

James Kynge December 1, 2003
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), announced a loosening of regulations on foreign banks and finance companies on Monday. These changes are largely assumed to be a response to US and EU accusations that China engages in unfair trading practices, which violate their commitment to the WTO. Wen Jiabao is traveling to Washington...

For the Iraqis, a Missile Deal That Went Sour

David E. Sanger December 1, 2003
Initially reported in the Central Intelligence Agency's October report on Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, it now seems that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il "took Saddam to the cleaners" by cheating him of $10 million. In exchange for the money, which may have been a down payment, North Korea reportedly promised to turn over the technology of their Rodong missile program....

Bull in a China Shop?

David Dapice December 1, 2003
As the election calendar heats up in the US, the Republican Bush administration and the Democrats' presidential hopefuls are all fingering China as the culprit behind America's economic woes. A rise in imports from China and a sharp decline in manufacturing jobs are the 'evidence' they point to, says economist David Dapice, but their theories simply don't hold water....

Bush Dropping Steel Tariffs to Avert Trade War

Mike Allen November 30, 2003
In response to a WTO ruling that was finalized three weeks ago, the Bush administration has indicated they are likely to drop the 8-30% steel tariffs imposed in 2002. The US faces a trade war with the European Union and Japan if it keeps the tariffs, which target imports from these nations as well as from South America. EU countries are threatening tariffs on products like Florida citrus fruits...

Japan Has Some Bold Ideas for Talks with ASEAN

Anthony Rowley November 26, 2003
After China's president made his successful ASEAN trip last month, Japan is now gearing up for December's ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit meeting in Tokyo, as well as a meeting of Asean+3 finance ministers early next year. To push further for a common Asian bond market is one of the priorities for Japan at these meetings, says this article in Singapore's Business Times, but Prime...

Difficult Times for Coffee Industry as Demand Falls

Tony Smith November 25, 2003
The international market for coffee is not good for the world's millions of coffee farmers. Facing prices at a 30-year low and production increases that outstrip demand, hundreds of thousands of coffee farm workers in Central America and Brazil are being forced off the land or into production of more profitable, yet harmful, coca production. Some former farmers are moving north to find work...

Winners and Losers at End of the Trade Talks

Andres Oppenheimer November 23, 2003
The signing of the Declaration of Miami last week by the 34 participating nations in the Americas "amounted to a broad agreement that allows countries to participate at their own preferred pace and scope in the negotiations, which are scheduled to end on Jan. 1, 2005," says commentator Andres Oppenheimer. The failure of WTO talks in Cancún had increased domestic pressure on the co-...