In The News

Supply Chinks

Nayan Chanda June 3, 2008
Even though the global supply chain has grown tremendously, the quality of products produced in other parts of the world has diminished. In fact, labels have become more misleading. A label stating that the product is “Made in China” is not necessarily true. According to Nayan Chanda, it is actually "made in the world." And the origin of some products or ingredients is never truly...

Keep America Open to Trade

Carlos M. Gutierrez May 28, 2008
Like other countries, the US confronts rising energy, housing and food prices – but limiting immigration or reducing trade will not alleviate such economic problems. The US secretary of commerce and the governor of California urge that the US continue open policies on trade and immigration. In an opinion essay for the Wall Street Journal, Carlos Gutierrez and Arnold Schwarzenegger, both...

The Free-Trade Paradox

James Surowiecki May 22, 2008
Large blocks of voters, including unions and some professions, often choose a president based on a clear-cut stance on one issue like trade. The positions of unions and blue-collar workers “reflect a widespread belief that free trade with developing countries, and with China in particular, is a kind of scam perpetrated by the wealthy, who reap the benefits while ordinary Americans bear the cost...

A Strategy to Promote Healthy Globalization

Lawrence Summers May 14, 2008
US workers and voters are impatient with globalization – and the highly skilled, productive workers in the West do not want any competition to dent their top wages. “[Workers’] effort is complemented by capital, broadly defined to include equipment, managerial expertise, corporate culture, infrastructure and the capacity for innovation,” writes Lawrence Summers, Harvard professor and former...

Battleground Over Globalization

Robert McMahom April 22, 2008
The presidential candidates repeatedly describe some voters as “real Americans” and “the lifeblood of this country.” Even for those voters, American” issues are international issues. Debates over NAFTA take center stage in industrial hotspots like Pennsylvania and Ohio, where steelworkers and other blue-collar communities harbor justifiable fears over how the trade deal has affected the US...

Democrats Threaten NAFTA, But Pact Is Here to Stay

Andrew C. Schneider April 7, 2008
Candidates promise to re-open a free-trade agreement like NAFTA – to attract voters from states with high unemployment rate, where concern about the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs is rampant. “Renegotiation would cause more problems than it would solve,” explains Andrew Schneider, associate editor of the Kiplinger Letter. In reopening the agreement, the US would not be alone in demanding...

Our Free-Trade Consensus

Kenneth Duberstein April 4, 2008
Two former White House chiefs of staffs join forces to urge bipartisan support of free trade. Republican Kenneth Duberstein and Democrat Thomas McLarty focus specifically on the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, still at a standstill, as some in US Congress fuel and thrive on protectionist sentiments. The two men, writing an opinion essay for the Wall Street Journal, argue that the agreement...