In The News

WTO Says Chinese Restrictions on Raw Materials Break Rules

Stephen Castle July 8, 2011
Under World Trade Organization rules, countries engaged in global trade can’t suddenly turn protectionist. The WTO agreed with a 2009 complaint from the US, Mexico and Europe that ”Chinese quotas, export duties and license requirements put in place a discriminatory system for the sale overseas of industrial raw materials widely used in the steel, aluminum and chemicals industries,” reports...

Global Race on to Match US Drone Capabilities

William Wan and Peter Finn July 6, 2011
Wars usher in new technology, and “U.S. military successes with drones have changed strategic thinking worldwide and spurred a global rush for unmanned aircraft,” report William Wan and Peter Finn for the Washington Post. China is ramping up drone research and production, preparing for export. The tiny aircraft cost less than 1/10th of a fighter jet, but requires a network of satellites and...

Asia Matters for America

Satu Limaye June 28, 2011
US workers and politicians rail about jobs lost to Asia. But Asian-US interactions in education, immigration, investment, tourism and trade produce US jobs and income, explains Satu Limaye, director of the East-West Center in Washington. He created Asia Matters for America, an online map that relies on US government data to show exports, as well as their growth and percentage of total trade,...

False European Hopes of a Chinese Savior

Jonathan Holslag June 28, 2011
Europe courts China with hope of financial rescue. “Europe’s economy is now sufficiently damaged that China alone can never do enough to help it recover,” writes researcher Jonathan Holslag for the Financial Times. “To put it bluntly, why should we expect Chinese companies to create jobs in Europe when our own ones stumble under the weight of high wages and taxes? And why should we expect our...

Latin America Ponders Role of the Renminbi

Joe Leahy June 23, 2011
Latin America anticipates China’s rise as the world’s top economy, but is uncertain about the Chinese currency. During the last decade, trade between the two regions increased fivefold and Chinese direct investment into Latin America increased by twentyfold, reports Joe Leahy for the Financial Times. Many Latin American firms are unfamiliar with the renminbi, Leahy writes, adding “For Brazil’s...

Growing Economies, Rising Problems – Part II

Uri Dadush, William Shaw June 23, 2011
The global economy is expected to triple in size by the year 2050, and much of the growth will come from emerging economies, which were viewed not long ago as impoverished and backward. This YaleGlobal series examines the consequences of the changing global economic order. While developing nations accrue more economic power, thanks to their large populations, they’ll remain relatively poor, note...

Change in China Hits US Purse

Jon Hilsenrath, Laurie Burkitt, Elizabeth Holmes June 22, 2011
For more than a decade, US shoppers enjoyed low prices on clothing, electronics and other products, thanks to China’s low-cost labor and its government keeping the value of its currency low. But the days of discounted prices are coming to an end as Chinese workers demand higher wages, the value of the Chinese yuan rises and new consumer demand throughout China leads to rising prices for cotton,...