In The News

Wall Street Journal: Chinese Smartphone and Made in America

Dan Strumpf May 24, 2018
The Trump administration has suggested it may lift an export ban on ZTE phones, the fourth largest supplier of US smartphones, and impose alternative penalties for the now-struggling company. US “companies haven’t been able to ship parts to ZTE since the U.S. Commerce Department’s mid-April order barring sales of products to the Chinese company,” reports Dan Strumpf for the Wall Street Journal. “...

Wired: Blockchain Follows Tuna From Fiji to Brooklyn

Louise Matsakis May 22, 2018
Blockchain technology provides tools who want to understand how their food or other products are sourced. Writing for Wired, Louise Matsakis describes tracking a yellowfin tuna from its catch in Fiji to the landing dock, processing facility and transport on to Brooklyn – with Ethereum blockchain by startup Viant. “A plethora of startups—as well as major companies like IBM and Walmart – are...

Financial Times: Europe to Seek Exemptions From US Sanctions on Iran

Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, Michael Peel and Tobias Buck May 9, 2018
European leaders met with Donald Trump, detailing their opposition to US exit from the Iran nuclear deal, contending that the agreement was working and that adjustments could be made. Regardless, Trump exited the deal and promised sanctions on countries that do business with Iran. Europe could stand to lose the most from the new sanctions. “EU leaders said they would press Washington to exempt...

Times of India: The Wuhan Puzzle

Nayan Chanda May 7, 2018
China and India, the world’s two most populous nations, are rivals for trade and regional influence. A two-day summit between Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi may have been a quest for cooperation and Nayan Chanda, writing for the Times of India, refers to a Mao Zedong theory on setting priorities: “In his famous work ‘On Contradiction,’ Mao stated successful policy depends on identifying the...

Project Syndicate: Why We Need Globalization

Koichi Hamada May 2, 2018
Open economies with active trade, immigration and foreign investment have historically enjoyed prosperity, and “globalization does not deserve voters’ ire,” argues Koichi Hamada for Project Syndicate. Competition does harm some communities and individuals, but governments can target policies that encourage economic security, job training and adaptation. “Yet such countervailing policies are...

The Economist: What’s in It for Belt-and-Road Countries?

April 20, 2018
Trade flourished in Central Asia until shipping routes became faster and more affordable than the Silk Road’s land routes: “many Eurasian hubs floundered,” reports the Economist. The leaders of China and many governments expect that infrastructure investments of the Belt and Road Initiative could revive the region as transport routes. But the Economist questions if the flow of trade will be one...

Asian Age: EU to Ban Palm Oil in Biodiesel

Sudheer Mopperthy April 16, 2018
Palm oil transformed from an alternative energy that could reduce carbon emissions to an eco-nightmare and mass burning of rainforest habitat to make room for more plantations: “One of the biggest issues raised was that using palm oil for biodiesel is an inefficient use of agricultural land,” notes Sudheer Mopperthy for the Asian Age. Likewise the European Union went form a pledge that 10 percent...