In The News

A Torrent of Hyperbole

Nayan Chanda December 23, 2013
Those arrested or detained in the United States, women and men of all ages, charged with small crimes or large, are routinely searched for their own protection and the protection of others held. Two contrasting stories have emerged about treatment of domestic help by an Indian diplomat charged with lying on a visa application. Politics and media as entertainment have combined to elicit extreme...

Canadian Pizza Eateries in Bind as Cheese-Import Loophole Closes

Barrie McKenna December 19, 2013
Trade barriers protect industries only briefly. Canada has a 200-plus percent tariff on imported cheeses, designed to protect its diary industry. Restaurants took advantage of a loophole to purchase special cheese-and-pepperoni kits from the United States, but the government revised rules; packages with fresh cheese now include the tariff. “Restaurants have long chafed at special Canadian rules...

Panel Urges Curbs on US Surveillance

Ellen Nakashima, Ashkan Soltani December 19, 2013
A panel of experts appointed by President Barack Obama to review US surveillance methods has recommended limits for the National Security Agency. Currently the NSA collects and stores many US phone records. Among the 46 recommendations: storage of US phone records by telephone companies or another third party rather than the government; court approval for specific records of US citizens; a...

Delhi Should Avoid Lasting Damages to India-US Ties

Rajesh Rajagopalan December 18, 2013
A junior diplomat stationed in New York City was charged by US marshals for underpaying a maid. Standard procedure for such detainees includes a strip search, and India is furious. The United States responds that junior diplomats do not have immunity; Indian leaders contend that the arrest could have been handled more sensitively. The United States and India should not allow the incident to ruin...

America’s Role as Consumer of Last Resort Goes Missing

Simon Kennedy December 16, 2013
Household final consumption represents about 70 percent of US gross domestic product, yet “Cheaper fuel and raw materials are boosting manufacturing, making the U.S. more of a competitor to emerging-markets nations and less a reliable consumer of their goods,” reports Simon Kennedy for Bloomberg. The US recorded its lowest current-account deficit since 1999, assisted by new supplies of domestic...

NSA Spying: A Threat to US Interests?

Bruce Stokes December 5, 2013
Reports that the US National Security Agency has collected internet and telephone data in Europe could influence negotiations for a proposed Transatlantic Trade and Partnership and require new understanding on rules for the digital economy. Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center, reports on recent surveys: A majority of Americans suggest that it’s...

A Dangerous Interregnum

Roger Cohen November 29, 2013
The 9/11 attacks, followed by long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have left the United States exhausted, which has transformed its approach to the globe. New York Times columnist Roger Cohen cites political theorist Antonio Gramsci who suggested that transitions, during which old ways resist new approaches, can magnify crisis. The United States, and other nations, too, have taken an “inward turn...