In The News

The EU Can Ignore Eastern Europe at Its Own Peril

Katinka Barysch April 17, 2009
At the G-20 meeting and subsequent media commentaries, focus has been on the travails of the European Union. But Eastern Europe is often lost sight of in the expression of cautious optimism about the EU economy weathering the storm. The former Soviet bloc countries, cautions analyst Katinka Barysch, are still at risk from the financial crisis with serious negative consequences for the West. Many...

Pipe Made in India Incenses Illinois Town

Louis Uchitelle April 16, 2009
A steel town whose factories are idled is not likely to welcome steel pipe from India in its backyard. And from the citizens’ initial reactions in an Illinois town, it’s not hard to see how a grassroots protectionist campaign could find strong support. But, as this article details, the issues are much more complex. First, the US has been importing 20 percent or more of its steel needs for the...

China Turns a Corner as Spending Takes Hold

Andrew Batson April 13, 2009
Recent data suggests that China’s economy may have bottomed: crude oil imports are up; steel mills are importing record amounts of iron ore; and the Shanghai Composite index is up over 32 percent year to date. It would appear Beijing’s stimulus program is having an effect. The fact that China remains partially a command economy has allowed the stimulus program to take effect more quickly...

Untested Solutions

Nayan Chanda April 13, 2009
The G-20’s proposed solution to sanitizing toxic assets and to solving plummeting trade is nothing short of monumental. But is it enough amid a backdrop of moribund data – exports are down 20-50 percent – and bleak forecasts – the World Bank expects export volumes to fall 9 percent in 2009? The answer is, not likely. These solutions are untested and brushed aside is perhaps the most important...

Unravelling Free Trade

Nayan Chanda April 9, 2009
The G-20 leaders, though accustomed to protests and denouncements, may find resisting protectionism even more arduous. But with the International Labour Organization forecasting a loss of 50 million jobs globally due to the current recession, refraining from protectionism is precisely what is required. Thus far, however, only three countries from the G-20 have kept their pledge to refrain, while...

Losing $63 Billion in Diverted U.S. Goods Is Sleuth Obsession

Carol Wolf April 9, 2009
Old-fashioned arbitrage on an international level has a new name: “product diversion.” It means the same thing though: buying low in one market and selling higher in another. The difference is that many multinational corporations (MNC) are now employing investigators and litigators to identify and crack down on the practice. Some MNCs have gone so far as to end business relationships with...

The G-20’s Uncertain Roadmap

Jonathan Fenby April 8, 2009
The recent G-20 summit was significant not only as a representation of how globalized the world has become – China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and other developing countries sat down with the US, the EU, and Japan – but also that there was sufficient agreement to plan a further meeting. But, as journalist and author Jonathan Fenby argues, the dire strait of the world economy needs short term...