In The News

Nod for China-Taiwan Oil Search

January 30, 2003
Economics may trump politics in the 21st century, if recent Taiwan-China cooperation is any indication. Despite bitter relations for the past half-century, Taiwan and China are putting aside their political differences in the name of economic efficiency – at least for the moment. They have chosen to search jointly for oil in the Tainan Basin, the body of water that separates the two countries...

Europe Acts Against US Effort on Ports

Gregory Couch January 28, 2003
The European Union's member states are joined together in an effort to remain competitive in an increasingly fierce and globally integrated world economy. It remains to be seen, however, whether the trend of globalization will undermine their national sovereignty. The United States, in an effort to combat terrorism abroad, has made bilateral trade and shipping security arrangements with...

Will the Doha Round Implode in 2003?

Ernesto Zedillo January 24, 2003
The current round of trade liberalization negotiations suffered major setbacks in 2002. Developed and developing member countries of the World Trade Organization fought over intellectual property rights, agricultural subsidies, and rampant protectionism masquerading as special and differential treatment, among other issues. Here, the director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and...

Koizumi Visits Energy-Rich Russian Region, Seeking Oil

James Brooke January 13, 2003
Search for a secure source of energy has been a major concern for industry-rich, resource-poor Japan. It is a concern that has been further heightened by growing insecurity in the world and rising tension in the Middle East -- its principal energy source. A new geopolitical concern about competition from a rising China has now been added to Japan’s foreign policy calculations. In a diplomatic...

For This Delicacy, Brand Recognition Is a Problem

Neil MacFarquhar January 13, 2003
Although UN sanctions on Iraq ban all exports except crude oil under the oil-for-food program, Iraqi dates, long prized for their delicious flavors and textures, still manage to make their way out of Iraq to other countries. According to this article in the New York Times, Iraqis use creative methods – such as shipping dates on Iranian-flagged ships and attaching phony labels – to reach markets...

Strict International Patent Laws Hurt Developing Countries

Amy Kapczynski December 16, 2002
In 1998, 39 pharmaceutical companies filed a lawsuit against South Africa. They hoped to stop the government from producing the generic drugs that would have made treatment affordable for the country's AIDS victims. A public outcry ensued, and critics accused pharmaceutical companies of valuing profit over human life. Although these same companies were eventually pressured into dropping...

Activity at Korean Enclave Grinds to a Halt

December 6, 2002
In the past decade, as China opened its markets to foreign investment, the northeastern city of Dandong developed into a bustling center of economic activity. But its North Korean counterpart city across the border, Sinuiju, is still languishing in bleak poverty. North Korea has made plans to imitate China’s efforts in Dandong, however, by turning Sinuiju into an administrative center. The...