In The News

Africa Needs Fair Trade, Not Charity

Mary Robinson August 23, 2005
Since the July G-8 summit and Live 8 concerts, the topic of African development has received unusual public attention. While the conversations have focused primarily on aid and debt relief, according to Mary Robinson, one topic has received inadequate treatment in international policy circles: free trade. Recalling her travels to cotton producer Mali and sugar producer Mozambique, Robinson...

Is Iraq War Fueling GCC's Economic Boom?

Emilie Rutledge August 12, 2005
Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March, 2003, all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have experienced high levels of economic growth, and the price of oil has doubled. Although the "Iraqi factor" can partly account for this upward trajectory in the price of oil, Emilie Rutledge writes that the unprecedented rise in global demand and lack of spare capacity are the more...

CAFTA's Close Call A Warning to US Policy Makers

Edward Gresser August 9, 2005
Passing both the Senate and the House by slim margins, the approval of CAFTA – a free-trade agreement linking the US with the five Central American states and the Dominican Republic – was a narrow victory for the Bush administration. CAFTA will only have a marginal effect on the US economy – so why such a close vote? As Edward Gresser writes, the new initiative addresses protected goods such as...

Why "Made in China" Is Good News for the US

Andrew Leonard August 5, 2005
US trade with and investment in China continue to rise, along with the American trade deficit. One of the few areas in which the US still enjoys a trade surplus with China is the microchip industry – traditionally a Silicon Valley specialty. However, China, intent on catching up, is training engineers and providing incentives to foreign investors in hopes of developing a strong microchip industry...

To Soothe Anger Over Subsidies, US Cotton Tries Wooing Africa

Scott Kilman August 5, 2005
Jim Butler, deputy undersecretary at the US Department of Agriculture, was greeted with fanfare when he visited Mali, pledging US support to help increase the productivity of cotton farming there. The United States has recently taken an interest in "helping" West African cotton farmers produce more effectively, but the motivation may be more just benevolence. As developing nations...

Free Trade and Poverty

Joachim Bamrud August 3, 2005
Despite years of market reforms, many Latin American countries remain poor. Latin Business Chronicle editor Joachim Bamrud traces the region's poverty and sluggish growth to the continuing protectionism of many countries. President George W. Bush's signing of CAFTA provides Latin America with a new opportunity to abandon import tariffs, which actually hinder domestic growth and the...

Mugabe Sells Bankrupt Zimbabwe's Assets to China

Rochelle Mutton August 1, 2005
With a highly unsavory international reputation and one of the world's most sluggish economies, Zimbabwe and its leader, Robert Mugabe, have very few cards left to play. One of those cards is its natural resource wealth. As a result, China has been willing to trade with the otherwise isolated African country. Though details of Mugabe's recent talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao...