In The News

China, India to Defy US Sanctions on Iranian Oil? CNBC

Sam Meredith April 23, 2019
The Trump administration continues efforts to constrain Iran. In 2018, the US abandoned a nuclear agreement designed to limit Iran’s nuclear program, and the administration announced nations purchasing Iranian oil will face sanctions after May 1. The United States had granted waivers over the past six months to India, China, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, allowing limited...

Brexit Damage for Asia and Africa: Global Finance

Andrew Woodman March 28, 2019
British voters and leaders are divided over whether and how to exit membership in the European Union. The economic damage could spread beyond Europe. The German Development Institute suggests that a no-deal Brexit would mean returning to World Trade Organization tariffs – with “49 vulnerable states will no longer have access to the UK market through an Everything But Arms (EBA) agreement that...

EU Copyright Reform: Deutsche Welle

March 26, 2019
The European Parliament approved a new copyright law, 348 t0 274 with 36 abstentions, that protects original content. Social media and other platforms that reprint content are expected to ensure their content does not violate copyright rules, and behemoth Google News would be expected to pay publishers for snippets shown in search results. Some critics worry about internet freedom, but exposure...

Thanking a Global Supply Chain: Times of Israel

Cindy Sher March 21, 2019
A lot of trade goes into a cup of coffee, and at the urging of his son, authur A.J. Jacobs wanted to express his gratitude. So he set out to research the individuals who helped make the routine of a morning cup of coffee possible and wrote a book. “During his quest, which took him from a farm in Colombia to a steel plant in Indiana, he discovered how interconnected the world is,” explains Cindy...

Battle for Global Internet Grid: Wall Street Journal

Jeremy Page, Kate O’Keeffe and Rob Taylor March 14, 2019
Huawei, headquartered in China, manufacturers an array of telecommunications equipment and pursues contracts worldwide, including building and equipping the vast undersea cable networks that carry global internet data. “About 380 active submarine cables – bundles of fiber-optic lines that travel oceans on the seabed – carry about 95% of intercontinental voice and data traffic, making them...

Nations, Not US, Ground Boeing 737 Max 8: AP

Richard Lardner and Tom Krisher March 13, 2019
Fatal aircraft crashes are rare, and concerns quickly emerged after two Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed soon after takeoff within six months: one in Indonesia and the other in Ethiopia. “The rest of the world typically takes it cues from the FAA, long considered the world’s gold standard for aircraft safety,” report Richard Lardner and Tom Krisher for the Associated Press. Safety regulators in...

Trump’s Overreach on Trade: Project Syndicate

Daniel Gros March 10, 2019
The US trade strategy may be to isolate China until the nation enforces property rights and allows foreign investment without technology-sharing requirements. In negotiating post-Brexit trade agreements with the United Kingdom or the European Union, the United States expects to prevent trade partners from making deals with non-market economies, specifically China, explains Daniel Gros, writing...