In The News

Mysteries of Trade Diplomacy

Ernesto Zedillo November 3, 2003
A month before the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade talks at Cancún, the US joined the European Union in favoring "perpetual agricultural protectionism." Consequently, when trade negotiators met in September in Cancún, the joint US-EU proposal did not seek to eliminate export subsidies. Instead, it aimed to provide legal support for agricultural protectionism. Zedillo argues that...

A Winter of Discontent?

Robert A. Kapp November 3, 2003
The recent trade and currency disputes between the United States and China have given some in Washington the impression that a crisis is developing in US-China relations. The entire US Congress seems to be raging about China's unfair trade policies and manipulation of its currency. Robert A. Kapp, the President of the US-China Business Council, says here that the current stable US-China...

Unevenly Yoked

Norbert Mao November 3, 2003
In the race to attract global capital and spur economic growth, Africa seems to have missed the bandwagon. Norbert Mao, a member of the Ugandan Parliament and currently a Yale World Fellow, says that Africa's dismal economic situation is a result of both inept political leadership and unfair policies of the developed world. Agricultural subsidies, patent restrictions, and a host of trade...

China's Factories Aim to Fill the World's Garages

Keith Bradsher November 2, 2003
As China’s economy grows, its domestic automobile industry has come to exceed that of more developed neighbors, like South Korea. Increased car travel has caused auto fatalities and air pollution to skyrocket, but may also be eroding the Communist Party’s political and social controls, says this New York Times article. And as multinational auto manufacturers increase investment in China, the...

A Chinese Lesson for the US: How to Charm South-east Asia

Evelyn Goh October 31, 2003
When the Presidents of both America and China visited individual countries in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently, they seemed to have brought with them two different sets of agendas. According to this article in Singapore's Straits Times, while Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, spent his time "touring a market place", US President George W. Bush was "...

Foreign Investment Isn't Enough

Jeffrey Kentor October 31, 2003
Although neoliberals argue that foreign investment spurs growth in developing countries, critics say high amounts of foreign capital may in fact retard development in the long-term. In a new study, economic sociologists Jeffrey Kentor and Terry Boswell suggest that both positions are incorrect, or at least partially so. Foreign investment is not a foolproof stimulant of economic growth, but...

The Fine Art of China-Bashing

Neil King Jr. October 31, 2003
As the Bush administration pushes even harder on China to revalue the yuan, the real motivations behind the "China-bashing" by US officials remain shady. Is the administration's rhetoric really meant to "help U.S. manufacturers compete against Chinese companies", ask the authors, "or just help U.S. politicians score points with anxious voters"? When the US...