In The News

The Rush for Legal Status in France

Katrin Bennhold July 7, 2006
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, reacting to protests against the deportation of families with school-aged children, instructed police chiefs to grant residency papers to families who fulfill certain requirements. That move toward leniency blurs his stance on immigration, especially after the French Parliament passed a tough new law proposed by Sarkozy that makes citizenship more challenging...

The Law of the Spirits

Andrew Morgan June 30, 2006
Good cooks like to experiment. But vodka producers in the Nordic, Polish and Baltic markets want to restrict ingredients for vodka production to two raw products: cereals or potatoes. Such are the issues that have posed obstacles for negotiators throughout the Doha round of trade talks. The regulation would prevent other producers whose alcohol comes from fruit or molasses from marketing their...

Arcelor Deal With Mittal Creates New Steel Giant

Heather Timmons June 28, 2006
Despite vigorous protest, a global steel giant emerges, now that the controversial merger between India’s Mittal Steel and Luxembourg-based Arcelor is signed and sealed. Arcelor executives and even European government officials rejected the original Mittal offer with stinging insults that revealed the anxieties behind Europe’s protectionist trend. Difficult negotiations followed, leading to a bid...

A McDonald’s Ally in Paris

John Tabliabue June 23, 2006
Despite the theft of a plastic figure of Ronald McDonald and the bulldozer attack of one restaurant – all to protest the Americanization of France – the French continue to dine at McDonald’s. Learning from the attacks, a McDonald’s executive started an ad campaign to educate consumers about the corporation, its all-French ingredients and employees. Europe now has more than 6,000 McDonald’s, with...

Economic Patriotism

Patricia Wruuck June 21, 2006
Protectionism in government-enforced industrial policy is rooted in domestic allegiances, yet can ultimately hurt local economies, writes Patricia Wruuk of Deutsche Bank Research. Economists agree that the free market is the best way to allocate goods and profits to a population, though some favor a more regulated industrial policy than others to ensure domestic sustainability and avoid the...

Russia’s Surging Steel Industry May Seek Role on a Global Stage

Andrew E. Kramer June 20, 2006
With its abundant supply of cheap labor, energy and iron ore, Russian steel super-giants are game to do cross-border business. The strategy centers on consolidating the Russian steel industry around one or two companies, which, according to Moscow metals analyst Sergei M. Donskoy, will provide more bargaining power with foreign steel makers. Russia’s richest man, Roman A. Abramovich, bought a...

Biotech Food Tears Rifts in Europe

Elisabeth Rosenthal June 6, 2006
Europe’s resistance to genetically modified foods places it at odds with the WTO, the US, Canada and Argentina, all of which push for greater acceptance of the products. No evidence suggests that such crops are dangerous, but the European public remains suspicious. Farmers argue that it’s ludicrous to grow crops that consumers detest. The issue has divided nations such as Greece, where the head...