In The News

India Opposes Zero Tariff Plan Proposed by US

December 3, 2002
The World Trade Organization is considering a US proposal to eliminate non-agricultural tariffs. India and many of its neighbors have heavy criticism for the plan, which they say will decrease governmental revenues and adversely impact developing economies. – YaleGlobal

Obstacles to Zero Tariffs

November 29, 2002
For many people, economic globalization means the dismantling of all barriers to free trade, a process which would eliminate all taxes on imported manufactured goods and agricultural subsidies. At the Doha round of world talks, the United States proposed zero tariffs on industrial and consumer goods by 2015. Though few can argue that lower tariffs will eventually benefit consumers, many...

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...

Debate on Intellectual Property

Steve Lohr October 14, 2002
Based on the economic history of the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, and other nations, the borrowing of ideas – and the making of improvements upon them – is essential to building strong domestic industries. Each of these countries owes a great deal of its economic success today to earlier eras in which foreign patents, copyrights, and trademarks received little or no protection. Now,...

Bush Scales Back Steel Tariffs

Edmund L. Andrews August 23, 2002
American steel companies and their representatives in Congress called on President Bush to rescue their dying industry and increase steel tariffs this spring. He did so, infuriating the European Union, which then filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, arguing that the U.S. was violating free trade rules. Bush has tried to satisfy both sides, discreetly excluding some steel...

A Step Forward

August 2, 2002
After a long period of intensive lobbying that spanned two administrations, President Bush won a key victory for his international trade platform when Congress granted him trade promotion authority. This authority means Congress must either accept or reject in full any international trade agreement the Bush administration proposes, rather than picking through it. But while this will certainly...