In The News

US Weighs Harder Line with China on Yuan

Andrew Browne February 22, 2006
With the appreciation of China’s currency moving at an unsatisfactory pace for the Bush administration, the US is signaling that it may press the issue more forcibly. Last year the US trade deficit with China rose to $202 billion, more than a quarter of the total US deficit. A week ago, US Trade Representative Rob Portman introduced a task force that will analyze Chinese trade practices. The...

China Seeking Auto Industry, Piece by Piece

Keith Bradsher February 21, 2006
With strong backing from the Communist Party, the Chinese company Lifan is making the jump from manufacturing motorcycles to cars, planning to compete with companies like Honda and Ford. The company is bidding to acquire one of the most innovative car engine plants in the industry from Damiler Chrysler and BMW The plant is in Brazil, but Lifan plans to break Campo Largo down and reassemble it in...

Used Cars for the Third World

Eric Wiedemann February 17, 2006
“El Dorado” is commonly known as the mythical city of gold. In Hamburg and other German cities, however, used-car scrap yards, known as “dorados,” challenge the traditional meaning. The “dorados” are huge fields, divided by fences, where dealers sell German cars that no longer meet safety or emissions standards, most destined for Africa and Eastern Europe. Despite appearances, there is nothing...

How Kenya Is Caught on the Thorns of Britain's Love Affair with the Rose

Jeevan Vasagar February 14, 2006
Kenya controls a quarter of the British rose market, and the flower, now the country’s second-largest export, is fueling much of the nation’s economic growth. Once blasted over low pay and poor working conditions, Kenya’s foreign-owned rose growers have cleaned up their act and reinvest some of their profits in Kenyan communities under the principles of fair trade. The flower industry’s...

Some Assembly Needed: China as Asia Factory

David Barboza February 10, 2006
Although a wealth of products pour into the US, bearing the label “made in China,” few are made completely in that nation at all. These days China is just the last stop in the complex global production networks run by multinational companies in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US. By confusing between what really is assembled in China with the common label of “made in China,” one...

EU Loses a Round On Biotech Crops

Scott Miller February 9, 2006
A WTO panel has found that the EU is guilty of illegally banning certain genetically modified crops. The 800-page ruling, which supporters hope has the potential to open Europe to more biotech products, was sought by Canada, Argentina and the US, who view Western Europe as a potential lucrative market for genetically modified seeds. For their part, European consumers are wary about the safety...

Are Big Oil’s Tanks Running Dry?

February 8, 2006
As President Bush called for the US to reduce its “addiction to oil”, Exxon reported the highest net profit of any US company ever – about $36 billion. A public backlash has greeted the record profits by the oil industry. As early as last October, Congress pressed “Big Oil” to defend itself on charges of profiteering. Anticipating more consumer fury, Democrats and Republicans have united to...