In The News

Free to Take Exceptions to "Free Trade"

Gregory Clark June 17, 2005
A top economic advisor to the Japanese government, Gregory Clark, argues that globalization and free trade do not always add up to global prosperity. Infant industries have historically benefited more from national trade protection than they have under free trade. The idea that protectionist measures only reward inefficient sectors and do not improve them in the long term is a crucial tenet of...

Lifting Africa's Debt Sentence

Doug Saunders June 13, 2005
A summit of financial ministers from the G-8 announced on Saturday that 18 of the world's poorest nations, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, will be relieved of their debt burdens. The beneficiaries – deemed to have satisfactory governments and economic structures – were selected via an intensive vetting system. The agreement has sparked opposition on both sides of the African aid...

Think Continental

Gamal Nkrumah June 10, 2005
Amidst controversy over the arguably paltry US aid offerings to Africa, many countries on that continent are meeting at this week's Cairo African Trade Conference to discuss regional and continental trade as an independent path to prosperity. African nations are interested in forming a unified front at WTO negotiations to increase their trade power and improve their disadvantaged position...

Chinese Shoe Sales Strain EU Trade Ties

Tobias Buck June 9, 2005
China's shoe exports to Europe have increased nearly seven-fold since the beginning of January, when trade quotas limiting its textile and clothing output were abandoned. Low-priced and abundant, Chinese-manufactured footwear has skyrocketed in market share, panicking European shoemakers who fear that their jobs and sales are threatened. Many are calling on Brussels to adopt anti-dumping...

The Payoff from Globalization

Gary Clyde Hufbauer May 27, 2005
Between 1946 and the present day, the United States has decreased its average tariff rate from 40 percent to 4 percent. Likewise, many economies worldwide have made moves to open their markets. Two analysts from the Institute for International Economics attempt to answer an obvious question: Has this trend benefited US citizens? Their answer: Absolutely. Unfortunately, the...

How to Jump-Start the WTO

Susan Ariel Aaronson May 26, 2005
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Organization. One of the tenets of the organization is to use trade as a means to achieve sustainable development for the world's emerging economies, but after several rounds of talks, the WTO seems stalled. As Susan Ariel Aaronson and Jamie Zimmerman write, there is yet hope for the organization and its goals. The key: Policymakers...

A Dangerous Mix of Politics and Trade

Philip Bowring May 23, 2005
China's surging textile exports have recently been subject to international scrutiny, with the United States re-imposing quotas. On Friday, Beijing voluntarily raised its textile export tariffs, a largely symbolic gesture designed to calm nerves overseas while asserting its own sovereignty. These examples of world trade tit-for-tat are not only short-sighted, writes commentator Philip...