In The News

TPP Is Surprising Vote of Confidence in Globalization

Greg Ip October 23, 2015
Workers in many countries are suspicious about free-trade agreements for reducing job opportunities. The Trans-Pacific Partnership has won approval of 12 nations, and now requires separate legislative approval from each. US approval could be “precarious,” suggests reports Greg Ip for the Wall Street Journal, even though the country may be sacrificing the least. He explains that trade agreement...

Pacific Trade Deal Needs to Harmonize With Sustainable Development Goals

Shuaihua Wallace Cheng October 22, 2015
Developed and poorer developing nations often struggle to agree on global initiatives. But two major deals have been announced: The 193 members of the United Nations approved global action on 17 Sustainable Development Goals to reduce poverty, and 12 nations concluded negotiations on the Transpacific Trade Partnership, the largest regional trade agreement in history. The trade agreement supports...

China's Xi Lauds Britain for “Visionary” Openness, Prods Others to Emulate

Stephen J, Adler and Jason Subler October 19, 2015
China’s President XI Jinping praises Britain for strengthening commercial ties with China. “Xi's visit comes amid debate in Britain and many other Western countries over what is the best way to engage with a Communist-ruled China that has grown more influential economically and diplomatically, but which maintains stances in areas from human rights to the South China Sea that are often at...

The Trans-Pacific Free-Trade Charade

Joseph E. Stiglitz and Adam S. Hersh October 8, 2015
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is more about “managed trade” than “free trade,” argue economists Joseph Stiglitz and Adam Hersh. The agreement requires approval from legislators of 12 nations. Stiglitz and Hersh argue that industry protections in the agreement may curtail innovation in many areas: “Under these investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems, foreign investors gain new rights to...

US, Japan and 10 Countries Strike Pacific Trade Deal

Shawn Donnan and Demetri Sevastopulo October 6, 2015
Twelve nations reached agreement on a huge free-trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership which covers labor conditions, environment protections, investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, intellectual property and packaging laws. The partnership is expected to cover 40 percent of world trade and is described as a success for US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for...

Pakistan Keen to Keep Ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia

Debalina Ghoshal October 1, 2015
Diplomacy in Asia is complicated by religious conflict and sets of regional rivalries including Iran and Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and India. A deal on Iran’s nuclear program negotiated by the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, could test strategic relations in Asia and trigger a series of recalculations. In particular, strengthening Indian-Iranian ties could fray...

Time to Dump the Fear

Nayan Chanda September 25, 2015
Governments and business owners should contain alarm over devaluation of the Chinese renminbi and low-cost goods. “Such is the fear of China’s export juggernaut that the news of the yuan’s devaluation brings about a kneejerk reaction, not only in India but all over the world,” writes Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal’s founding editor and now consulting editor, in his column for Businessworld. “But not...