In The News

Rumble in the Graveyard

Margot Cohen October 1, 2007
Just two decades ago, gravestone suppliers based in India were poised to dominate the global market. But now, China imports colorful granite available only in Indian quarries, manufactures tombstones and sells them to the world. In the process, China undercuts prices from other producers, including those in India. As Sino-Indian trade reaches unprecedented levels, India’s trade deficit with China...

Trading Ritual and Reality

Alan Beattie September 25, 2007
Trade agreements are often contentious, raising heated protests from those fearing job loss and eagerness from businesspeople anticipating record profits. Yet since major reductions in manufacturing tariffs were instituted following World War II, trade agreements have been more about style than substance. The decline in the importance of bilateral and regional treaties can be attributed to the...

No Thanks, And Keep Your Farm Aid

Joel Stein September 18, 2007
The international humanitarian organization, CARE, rejected $45 million in aid from the US government, suggesting that dumping huge amounts of wheat and other US-grown crops into developing markets only drives local farmers out of business and aggravates poverty. According to Joel Stein, Los Angeles Times columnist, the US insists on a distribution system that “only a huge bureaucracy or a really...

An Opportunity for Wall St. in China’s Surveillance Boom

Keith Bradsher September 17, 2007
Like other industries, surveillance is booming in China and attracting overseas investors. Hedge funds in the US profit by investing in firms that develop and apply high-tech internet censorship, face- and behavior-recognition software, and video feeds. Some Chinese firms, like China Security and Surveillance Technology and China Public Security Technology, incorporate in the US to attract...

A Bumper Crop of Inertia

Robert J. Samuelson September 14, 2007
US farmers of wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton and rice are hooked on government subsidies that began in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Since then, the subsidies have continued, year after year, while political or agriculture industry leaders refuse to admit that changing needs demand new priorities. Rather than saving family farms, creating jobs, encouraging good nutrition habits or...

Big Questions for Big Oil

Sacha Kumaria September 5, 2007
Oil prices will probably rise with the approach of winter in the northern hemisphere, continuing a wave of profits. But the world’s largest oil companies plan for contraction rather than expansion. National oil companies in countries like Russia or Venezuela, as monopolies, demand high payments from the competing independent firms, allowing less funds for research and development. Independent...

Blue Skies for Globalization?

Richard Aboulafia September 4, 2007
At times, global trade seems to make more enemies than friends. Politicians tend to hear from constituents who fear outsourcing and job cuts rather than workers who benefit from foreign investment and trade. International teamwork is essential for complex fields like the aerospace industry, argues Richard Aboulafia in the Star-Telegram. US air carriers account for less than 10 percent of all...