In The News

Nod for China-Taiwan Oil Search

January 30, 2003
Economics may trump politics in the 21st century, if recent Taiwan-China cooperation is any indication. Despite bitter relations for the past half-century, Taiwan and China are putting aside their political differences in the name of economic efficiency – at least for the moment. They have chosen to search jointly for oil in the Tainan Basin, the body of water that separates the two countries...

Lula’s Message for Two Worlds

January 30, 2003
First he inspired hope at a crowded haven for anti-globalizers. Then he received an ecstatic greeting from a globalized assembly of free traders meeting at a playground for the rich. Brazil's new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, moved last week between Porto Alegre and Davos with amazing ease. He was elected last year on a populist platform that railed against neo-liberal economics...

Hybrid Cars Are Catching On

Danny Hakim January 28, 2003
In a global economy in which national boundaries hold little meaning for multinational corporations, American businesses are being forced to deal with competition from abroad. Japanese hybrid automobiles have begun to gain popularity in American markets, and American automakers, fearful of ceding yet another market to Japanese companies, have responded by announcing plans for the development of...

Big Bang Expansion of the European Union

Shada Islam January 28, 2003
The expansion of the European Union to include another 75 million people in Eastern and Central Europe is an event of monumental proportion. Negotiations remain underway as 10 new countries adjust their economies and polities to EU standards on agriculture, trade, human rights, and other issues. Meanwhile, people around the globe are taking stock of what a larger EU means for their region. -...

Europe Acts Against US Effort on Ports

Gregory Couch January 28, 2003
The European Union's member states are joined together in an effort to remain competitive in an increasingly fierce and globally integrated world economy. It remains to be seen, however, whether the trend of globalization will undermine their national sovereignty. The United States, in an effort to combat terrorism abroad, has made bilateral trade and shipping security arrangements with...

Landmark China-Taiwan Flight Thaws Ties, for Now

January 27, 2003
To loud fanfare, an airline flight from Taiwan to Hong Kong, and then on to Shanghai, was hailed as a first step towards direct transportation across the Taiwan Strait. Though about 800,000 Taiwanese live and work in China, they have traditionally had to make complex connections to fly home for the New Year’s holiday. Taiwan's China Airlines is leading five other airlines that wish to make...

Will the Doha Round Implode in 2003?

Ernesto Zedillo January 24, 2003
The current round of trade liberalization negotiations suffered major setbacks in 2002. Developed and developing member countries of the World Trade Organization fought over intellectual property rights, agricultural subsidies, and rampant protectionism masquerading as special and differential treatment, among other issues. Here, the director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and...