In The News

India Eyes Riches at Poor's Expense

Amelia Gentleman February 19, 2007
India presents a triumphant stance as it boasts growing financial success in the global sphere. While skyscrapers loom and information-technology professionals prosper in Dehli and Mumbai, hundreds of millions of others live in poverty, perform backbreaking labor and struggling to provide adequate nutrition for their children. This contradiction troubles Indian Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss...

The New Cyprus Controversy: Oil

George Gilson February 15, 2007
Cyprus has at least several billion barrels of oil in offshore fields, although the exact amount is uncertain. The island has been divided into two parts since 1974, when Turkey intervened in a coup and Turkey protests attempts by Cyprus to make oil deals with neighboring nations such as Egypt or Lebanon or international oil firms. The United Nations maintains a buffer zone across Cyprus – one-...

America’s China Worries – Part II

Bruce Stokes February 8, 2007
China has emerged as both mammoth producer and consumer, and that means more countries, including key US allies, depend on China for their economic well-being. The second article in this three-part series on worries besetting China-US relations explores how one nation’s expanding influence over global trade policy diminishes the other’s influence and flexibility. As the US trade imbalance with...

US Exporters Feel Favorable Trade Winds

Peter S. Goodman February 5, 2007
Many politicians running for office lash out at global competition, blaming it for a host of domestic problems during election campaigns. Yet trade is a two-way street, and firms with international trade links can succeed. Examples in the US include MTS Systems, which makes tire testers, and Caterpillar, which manufactures construction and mining equipment. A sagging US dollar, the rapid...

Once a Dream Fuel, Palm Oil May Be an Eco-Nightmare

Elisabeth Rosenthal February 5, 2007
In the race to find alternatives to traditional fossil fuels, an eager public often hails any new find as the solution to world energy shortages. Initial enthusiasm often fades as the reports of harmful complications emerge – and such is the case with biofuels derived from palm oil. Palm oil decreased carbon-dioxide emissions in the Netherlands, but environmental groups suggest that the emissions...

A Global Mission for China and America

Robert Zoellick February 1, 2007
Cooperation and fair play do more to promote mutual and global prosperity than bickering or conflict. Former US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick points out seven concrete steps that China and its economic partners can take to ensure sustainable, responsible growth that minimizes harm both inside of China and outside. Among his recommendations, Zoellick proposes more international private-...

Democrats Give Bush the Business on Trade

Peter S. Goodman February 1, 2007
To avoid petty special-interest confrontations, the US Congress can extend authority to the president to negotiate trade deals. Congress retains final approval, voting yes or no on deals negotiated by the president. But a Democratic Congress at odds with the Republican president has demanded guarantees on labor and environmental protections in any future negotiations. Otherwise, Congress will...