In The News

Stephan Finsterbusch March 14, 2003
Christopher Bowe March 13, 2003
The flood of drug sales from Canadian pharmacies to US consumers raises many ethical, political, and trade questions. In response, American and Canadian health authorities have begun discussions on the flow of price-controlled drugs into the US. This growing cross-border business illuminates many loopholes in US health care policies and the problem of insufficient drug coverage for many elderly...
Pennapa Hongthong March 13, 2003
Intellectual property rights experts and farmer's rights activists in Thailand are up in arms over their government's proposed native-resources protection bill. The bill, designed to protect the country's native animal and plant species, has been drafted to help Thailand comply with the World Trade Organization's agreement on trade in intellectual property. The main fault in...
David Hughes March 12, 2003
Why should a Singapore-based business daily express concern over a proposal drafted by the European Commission (EC) on pollution violations in EU waters? David Hughes argues that the new proposal is noteworthy precisely because it does not take geography or nationality into account. Therefore, he posits, "a Singapore flagged ship putting into Rotterdam could be prosecuted for an alleged...
March 4, 2003
Only one percent of small and medium businesses in America export abroad, and most of those export to Mexico and Canada. The US Commercial Service in cooperation with 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific is working on a plan to help such businesses get access to Asian markets. – YaleGlobal
Vandana Shiva February 25, 2003
Implementation of the WTO’s trade liberalization rules marginalizes and hurts developing countries, says this opinion article in The Hindu, one of India’s largest newspapers. Trade liberalization is designed to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade, but developing countries cannot compete with foreign agricultural producers. The author further argues that developing countries should be...
Charlene Barshefsky February 22, 2003
As part of its long term strategy, Charlene Barshefsky, former U.S. trade representative, argues that the U.S. must promote economic liberalization in the Middle East. The region has more trade barriers than any other part of the world. It also has a fast growing population of young people without jobs. Eight of the eleven largest economies in the Middle East are not members of the World Trade...