In The News

The Politics of Globalization

Peter Mandelson April 8, 2011
The politics of globalization can be improved, argues Peter Mandelson, former European commissioner for trade in an essay based on a March 2011 keynote speech on the future of globalization. Governments have the capability to tame what seems to be a senseless race to devour resources and amass profits. Collective action is the only way to control dangerous competition, prevent unreasonable...

Dead Parrot Trade Talks

Jagdish Bhagwati March 29, 2011
Failure to complete the decade-old Doha Round of trade talks would severely weaken the World Trade Organization. An original deadline set for January 2005 has long passed. Jagdish Bhagwati, a leading trade economist, urges setting another deadline: Complete the Doha Round by the end of the year, or consider the talks dead. The round, aiming to reduce trade barriers in agriculture and service...

Brazil Takes a Second Look at China Ties

Sean Goforth February 23, 2011
Growing trade between Brazil and China is driven by China’s demand for Brazilian raw materials. China is Brazil’s biggest trade partner. Brazil may enjoy a large trade surplus, but the government increasingly recognizes that the relationship is imbalanced and not benefiting Brazilian ambitions. Exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods challenges the Brazilian industrial sector,...

Pentagon Must “Buy American,” Barring Chinese Solar Panels

Keith Bradsher January 11, 2011
Technological advancements increasingly center on green-energy products, an arena of growing US-China rivalry. In particular, the US military supports development of renewable energy sources because fossil fuels are difficult to transport to war zones like Afghanistan. Nations compete to boost their own manufacturers: The US and Europe generally subsidize the solar-panel customers while China...

Amid Tension, China Blocks Vital Exports to Japan

Keith Bradsher September 24, 2010
A Chinese fishing trawler crashed into Japanese patrol vessel near islands with disputed ownership. China went into overdrive, suspending high-level diplomatic contact and blocking the export of rare-earth minerals required for high-tech products, including military equipment. The ad hoc administrative shipping ban, rather than a public regulatory procedure, is difficult to protest under World...

Hot Political Summer as China Throttles Rare Metal Supply and Claims South China Sea

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard August 5, 2010
China holds a monopoly on processed rare-earth minerals, a group of 17 metals with names like thulium and cerium, essential for modern technology. A report from the US General Accounting Service notes that, with businesses lulled by low prices, China has taken the lead in processing the minerals. Writing for the Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard links the lock over rare-earth minerals to new...

Beijing Is Key to Creating More U.S. Jobs

C. Fred Bergsten April 22, 2010
By artificially setting the price of its currency, China is robbing the United States of jobs and building up an unprecedented trade surplus. Former Treasury official Bergsten says that currency manipulation is a form of protectionism and the US and global institutions need to respond because it is a problem that affects economies around the world. He calls for a three-pronged strategy: the US...