In The News

Laissez Unfaire

Arindam Mukherjee March 11, 2004
Globally, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is very much in vogue, but India is rethinking its rush to keep up with trends. At present, there are some 250 FTAS globally, a figure that is likely to increase dramatically in the near future. India has made many strides in this area, signing, or committing to sign, various multilateral as well as bilateral agreements. Currently, it is in the process...

Use Outsourcing to Spur Change in India

Bruce Stokes February 28, 2004
A provision in the new US Omnibus Appropriations bill prohibits the offshore outsourcing of some federal government contract work. And now Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry has suggested requiring all call centers, in the US and abroad, to inform consumers where the operators are located when providing customer service. Calling these actions and policies "largely the product...

A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All

February 24, 2004
A new report issued by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization acknowledges that globalization's "potential for good is immense," but points to record unemployment levels as a sign that globalization has not met the majority of men and women's "simple and legitimate aspirations for decent jobs and a better future for their children." The...

Edwards Notes Differences on Issue of World Trade

Katherine Q. Seelye February 20, 2004
As the race for the US Democratic Party's presidential nomination narrows down to just two candidates – Senators John Edwards and John Kerry – a significant change in strategy is underway. Both candidates, clearly capitalizing on public sentiment stemming from the loss of US jobs to overseas competition, are attacking international trade agreements and generally siding with US labor leaders...

A Rising New Force in World Public Opinion

Immanuel Wallerstein January 28, 2004
The slogan of the World Social Forum reads, "another world is possible" - as in, a world devoid of capitalism and neo-liberal trade policies. From a small group of protesters who successfully scuttled the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle, the group has quickly grown to global proportions, says social theorist Immanuel Wallerstein. Over 100,000 people attended the most recent WSF meeting in...

Will Washington Return to Supporting Freer Trade?

Susan Ariel Aaronson January 20, 2004
Has the US led the world in promoting a pro-free trade agenda? Looking at the rhetoric emanating from Washington in the early days of the Bush administration, one may think so, says globalization scholar Susan Ariel Aaronson. But looking at Washington's actions over the past two years, we must reach a different conclusion, she argues. US intransigence on decreasing subsidies to its...

Harvesting Poverty

December 7, 2003
America’s cotton, among other crops, is exported internationally in large amounts each year, despite the fact that it often sells for less than it costs to grow. This is because of the US government’s high agricultural subsidies. Countries such as the US, argues this editorial, unfairly render the crops of poorer countries like Brazil uncompetitive in the global market. Furthermore, wealthy...