In The News

Secrets, Lies and Sweatshops

November 27, 2006
US multinational companies that rely on factories overseas often tout how their strict labor rules protect human rights. For example, Wal-Mart stops doing business with factories in China after four warnings on wage or scheduling violations. But factories under contract with multinationals have learned how to circumvent the regulations by hiring coaching firms that fake employee payroll records...

Beijing’s African Summit: Why China Is Wooing the Dark Continent

Eric S. Margolis November 17, 2006
China recently gave a grand welcome to 48 leaders from Africa and passed out $10 billion in aid. As a country that gets about one-third of its oil from Africa, China refuses to criticize human-rights violations that are common throughout the continent. In embracing diplomacy and resisting military action, China has built up an ample trade surplus and more than $1 trillion cash reserves. With such...

Can Asia Count on Russian Oil?

Michael Richardson November 16, 2006
Nations rich in oil can wield great influence throughout the world, and the nations who must buy oil look for low prices and reliability. As the world’s largest exporter of natural gas and the second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia, Russia is a major power broker when it comes to energy. Constructing pipelines across Asia, the Russian government is not clear about whether its earliest...

Relax, Democrats Might Not Be So Protectionist After All

Edward Gresser November 14, 2006
Pundits worldwide suggest that Democratic control of the US Senate and House of Representatives after the November 7 election spells doom for free trade. But the Democratic Party has a tradition of economic internationalism, beginning with presidents such as Woodrow Wilson who served from 1913 to 1921. The party’s leaders have put forward a domestic agenda that aims at calming the anxiety of...

Protectionist Stance Is Gaining Clout

Gregg Hitt November 13, 2006
With Democrats in charge of Congress, a protectionist sentiment could envelope Washington, DC, with politicians eager to prove that they are protecting US borders, firms, jobs and wages. The business community spent large sums to defeat candidates opposed to business interests: Executives identify protectionism as the biggest threat to growth after terrorism, and the US Chamber of Commerce spent...

Bad Trade-Off

Stuart Anderson November 10, 2006
Analysts anticipate that a US Congress controlled by Democrats will scrutinize and even stall free-trade agreements. Under Democrats, Congress will probably not extend the Republican president’s fast-track authority for approving trade agreements, which expires in July 2007. Democrats criticized the Bush administration for allowing manufacturing firms to invest in overseas plants, particularly...

And Now for a Word About Globalization

Jon Talton November 9, 2006
Troubled by violence in Iraq, corruption in politics and uncertainty over the economy, US voters threw Republicans out of power in Congress. With voters increasingly concerned about a loss of manufacturing jobs, Democrats in Congress are expected to impose conditions on any trade agreements – and Republican critics will probably label any changes as “protectionist.” But journalist Jon Talton...