In The News

Indonesia Mulls Euro as Trade Currency

Shoeb Kagda April 22, 2003
With as much as 15% of Bank Indonesia's reserves already held in Euros, the European Union's currency could in future take a dominant role in Indonesia's international trade. A senior government official confirmed that Indonesia was considering making the switch from US dollars to the Euro after the idea was proposed by the country's national oil company. Concerns about a...

SAS nabs N Korea drug ship

Ian Gerard April 21, 2003
Braving rough seas and bodily harm, yesterday members of Australia's special forces boarded a North Korean ship suspected of smuggling over 50 kg of heroin. Although the ship's flag showed it to be registered in Tuvalu, the first land-based arrests in the case included a Singaporean and two Malaysians, with the crew of the smuggling ship believed to be from North Korea. International...

Collateral Damage

Jeffrey E. Garten April 11, 2003
In the months leading up to the war in Iraq, and in the weeks since the coalition to remove the Saddam Hussein regime began military action, many analysts predicted a backlash against US foreign policy in other regions. But in this article for YaleGlobal, Jeffrey Garten suggests that American businesses may be the real losers. Garten writes that if current rhetoric of boycotting all things...

Doha Round in Deadlock

April 1, 2003
The latest failure of the WTO's Doha round centered on a predictable culprit – agricultural subsidies. This editorial in the Financial Times argues that the failure of discussions on agricultural protection could not only be the death knell of the Doha round, but, worse still, could provoke member countries to actually increase protectionist barriers. "By removing pressure on WTO...

Using Tariffs to Discourage Movie Production Outside US

Bernard Simon March 29, 2003
Following the lead of American manufacturers, American moviemakers are moving their operations abroad in search of cheaper labor. Canada, especially, has become a hotspot for filming, offering attractive tax incentives and a cheap dollar. United States film crews – and the governor of California – are increasingly alarmed at the growing trend, however. Fed up, members of the American film...

WTO Rules Against U.S. on Steel Tariff

Elizabeth Becker March 27, 2003
The World Trade Organization made an interim decision that the steel tariffs imposed by US President George Bush last year were illegal, and the decision is not likely to be overturned on appeal. Last spring, Mr. Bush imposed tariffs on most types of steel imported from Europe, Asia and South America. The tariffs received support from the US steel industry, but also protests from US industries...

Iraq Rift Could Threaten US-EU, Global Economy

March 19, 2003
A new study out from an American university says that the EU-US rift over military action in Iraq could do great damage to the cause of global free trade. "The US and the Europeans have to collaborate and lead the way, or else there's really no other real incentive for other countries to put things on the table" in global trade talks, said the author of the study. He also warned...