In The News

US, Singapore on Brink of Sealing Free-Trade Pact

November 19, 2002
American and Singaporean negotiators spent most of last night negotiating the final terms of the first American-Asian free-trade agreement, which, if all goes smoothly, could be signed as early as next year. The two sides agreed on all but one major issue (that of capital transfers in-and-out of Singapore). Singapore’s geopolitical importance, with its modern technology and peaceful political and...

The Challenge for the Multilateral Trade System

Guy de Jonquières November 18, 2002
Is multi-lateral trade the only way to pursue globalization? A recent trend to forge regional and bilateral trade agreements has Supachai Panitchpakdi, WTO director-general, arguing that "by discriminating against third countries and creating a complex network of trade regimes, such [bilateral] agreements pose systemic risk to the global trading system." But the US and other countries...

The Need for WTO Reform

Vandana Shiva November 12, 2002
Farmers in India suffer from WTO rules. Without import restrictions and tariff barriers, subsistence farmers are forced to compete against subsidized firms that can provide artificially low prices. Meanwhile, costs have increased for farmers as multinationals rush into the market with seeds that require expensive fertilizers. Market access for developing countries and lowering subsidies – two...

Iran's President Presses for Dialogue in Spain

Camelia Entekhabi-Fard November 5, 2002
Iran's President Khatami recently became the first Iranian leader to visit Spain since the 1979 revolution. The mere fact of his visit was made even more significant by productive dialogue between President Khatami and Spanish leaders on issues of trade, security, Islam, and democracy. Iran is eager to win the respect of European Union countries, especially after President Bush made it...

Russian Oil ‘Can Ease Reliance on Mideast’

Nancy Dunne September 13, 2002
In an effort to decrease dependency on oil sources in the Mideast, US Senator Conrad Burns called for increased cooperation with Russian officials and oil companies. The senator hopes the development of Russian oil infrastructure will reduce the U.S.’s reliance on “rogue-oil” – an issue of particular sensitivity in light of President George Bush’s recent talk of war with Iraq. On October 1-2, the...

A Free World

Martin Wolf September 3, 2002
Martin Wolf believes that the current era of globalization is better positioned to maintain its momentum than was the globalization wave of the late 19th and early 20th century. The earlier period’s economic integration collapsed between 1914 and 1945 due to 4 factors: 1) the rise of militarism, imperialism, nationalism, communism, and fascism; 2) the rise of protectionism, particularly in the US...

Final Text of Environment Deal Hammered Out

John Mason September 3, 2002
With the understanding that environmental issues are not containable to any one region, representatives from all over the world have gathered at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to finalize a global agreement of cooperation. Issues on the table include universal access to clean water, globalization of trade and finance, new targets on renewable energy production, protection of fish...