In The News

Brazil: Poster Boy of Globalization Charts Own Course

Kevin Casas-Zamora April 9, 2010
Leaving behind its history as an underdeveloped state dependent on US foreign aid and security umbrella, South America’s largest nation has ridden the wave of globalization to become a formidable economic and diplomatic power. In just two decades, Brazil cultivated a middle class by opening its economy and curbing inflation while installing social programs that radically reduced poverty. Timely...

Toyota’s Stumble is Not a Metaphor for Japan Inc.

Lam Peng Er March 26, 2010
Many equate Toyota’s current woes with a failure of Japan Inc, even Japan itself, according to East Asian specialist Lam Peng Er. But this would be a mistake. Toyota’s ills are really a congeries of missteps now caught up in conspiracy theories and political wrangling. For years, Toyota was synonymous with Japanese manufacturing excellence. But this search for constant improvement at an ever...

The World Needs Rebalancing, Not China Alone

Jeffrey E. Garten March 22, 2010
Washington’s uproar surrounding China’s handling of its currency risks becoming more than a trade spat, according to international trade expert Jeffrey E. Garten. If the US labels China a currency manipulator and imposes tariffs on Chinese goods, not only could this action wreck the recovery, as the world economy remains fragile, but it could also boil over into other realms of international...

China Uses Rules on Global Trade to Its Advantage

Keith Bradsher March 16, 2010
China seems to be pursuing a two-pronged strategy to exploit inconsistencies in global governance systems to benefit its economy at the expense of the rest of the world. On the one hand, China is filing an increasing number of cases with the WTO, despite the country's gigantic trade surplus. On the other hand, China is suppressing reports prepared by the IMF that charge it with keeping the...

WTO Has Obstacles to Trade In Retreat

John W. Miller March 11, 2010
Despite media reports of rising tariffs and other barriers to trade, a new report from the WTO, the UN, and the OECD concludes that protectionist policies have been declining since the end of 2009. The amount of trade affected by barriers increased only a fraction during the recent economic crisis, though some countries, particularly in Africa, saw their trade decline precipitously in that same...

India Worries as China Builds Ports in South Asia

Vikas Bajaj February 19, 2010
China’s efforts to beef up its South Asian trade by building ports in nations such as Pakistan and Bangladesh are irking India, which feels that its regional influence is being undermined. This is the latest trend in a history of strained relations between the two countries, who are now nonetheless linked by booming trade with one another. Over the last decade, however, China’s trade with South...

Free Trade, Loss of Support Systems Crippling Food Production in Africa

February 18, 2010
Free trade and privatization, two hallmarks of development strategy in the last few decades, have not produced the intended benefits in developing countries. In fact, these policies increased poverty and decreased food production, exacerbating food shortages in the developing world like the one in 2008, according to a multi-university study. The problem is that free trade is not really free and...