In The News

Post-Brexit Britain as Ruletaker: Financial Times

Philip Stephens March 8, 2019
In supporting Britain’s exit from the European Union, some voters anticipated escaping rules imposed by the European Union. But the British will soon discover that they cannot be rulemakers, explains Philip Stephens for the Financial Times. He recounts criticism about European noise limits on lawnmowers imposed during the 1980s. British complained and investigated the origins of the European...

Trade War Backfires: International Business Times

Arthur Villasanta March 7, 2019
As economists had warned, the US trade war is causing pain for both Chinese and US businesses. The US trade deficit hit $621 billion in 2018, the largest level since 2008. The US Department of Commerce reports record US imports of $2.6 trillion in goods for the year. The trade deficit in goods was $891 billion with a surplus of $270 billion for services. “Particularly galling for the Trump...

Risk of Backlash With China Deal: Financial Times

James Politi and Lucy Hornby February 27, 2019
Agreement on a China-US trade deal may be near. Both nations want a deal, though few details have been released. US goods and service trade with China totaled more than $700 billion in 2017. “Yet even if a deal is more likely than not, there is reason to doubt whether it will be as comprehensive as Mr Trump is likely to depict — or even if it can deliver a lasting commercial peace between...

Future of Trade, Value Chains in Services: McKinsey

Susan Lund, James Manyika, Jonathan Woetzel, Jacques Bughin, Mekala Krishnan, Jeongmin Seong, and Mac Muir February 26, 2019
Trade increases in absolute terms though overall percentages are slowing, explains analysis from McKinsey Insights. Services like research, finance, engineering and more are growing at a faster pace than trade in goods,” creating value far beyond what national accounts measure,” the article reports, adding “services already constitute more value in global trade than goods. In addition, all global...

US-China Trade Deal Not Enough: Project Syndicate

Minxin Pei February 18, 2019
If the US and China fail to negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement, bilateral trade, the economic relationship will erode as tariffs of up to 25 percent are applied on $200 billion of Chinese exports to the US, thus encouraging relocation of business activity out of China. Even if the two nations resolve differences over China’s state-owned enterprises and subsidies, the relationship could...

Age of Uneasy Peace: Foreign Affairs

Yan Xuetong February 16, 2019
US Vice President Mike Pence’s 2018 speech at the Hudson Institute, stopping short at inaugurating a new Cold War, bluntly enumerated China’s encroachment on US interests. His words illustrated the Trump administration’s perception of the rising power in the East, one determined to replace the United States in the global order. Yan Xuetong writes in Foreign Affairs that China does not seek an...

WTO and New World Order: Diplomat

Valbona Zeneli and Michael R. Czinkota February 15, 2019
With more than 160 members, the World Trade Organization describes itself as the only global organization dealing with the rules of trade among nations. “The outsourcing revolution has affected the developing world in a major way: global manufacturing and new services have dramatically changed supply chains; corporate espionage and intellectual property infringements supported many corporate...