It is no surprise that the world trade talks have collapsed. Rich countries tried to retain some protections of their agricultural markets despite their own evident wealth. Their rationale is support of farmers and even talk of “food security” – this is of course ridiculous in today’s world. We in rich countries benefit from what …
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Category:Trade and FDI
Is Thailand beginning to set a good example?
Thaksin Shinawatra is going on trial. And it seems that judicial process might be getting institutional and popular backing. That would be a very positive sign that Thailand is maturing into a sophisticated society and economy. My experience with the judicial process a decade ago was not encouraging. And I doubt we’ll see a conviction. …
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The Warwick Commission report on world trade
The Warwick Commission report on the world trade system … Experts Say Consensus Should No Longer Be Deal Breaker in World Trade The Warwick Commission, a panel of leading specialists on world trade is this week publishing the results of its 10 month study of the state of the world trade system. They are concerned about what …
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Emperor Qian Long to King George III
This link came across my desk and I share it because of my ties to Hong Kong and fondness for China. It is the text of a famous letter from Emperor Qian Long sent to King George III at the height of Chinese civilisation in the 18th century. China entered into a 200-year period of …
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China’s focus on quality gets results
Following the appointment of Vice Premier Wu Yi to a special task force to raise standards, results continue to be reported. On one hand it is a little bit worrying to see the lack of standards compliance (though they are not accompanied by stories of swathes people getting ill), but it is refreshing to see …
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Trade, inequality and education
Observations that inequality is rising as wealth rises have circulated recently with the publication of the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook which shows that while global income inequality has fallen, within countries, both rich and poor, inequality has been rising almost everywhere. As the IMF put it: “This recent experience seems to be …
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WTO rules US cotton subsidies illegal, again
The World Trade Organisation upheld the findings of its interim report released in July saying that subsidies paid to US cotton farmers are illegal. The US is expected to appeal, but if it is upheld, the US could face billions of dollars in trade sanctions for failing to scrap illegal subsidies. The ruling is a …
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Soften the China lobby (and others)
Beijing recently announced an anti-monopoly law which some observers say could work with rules on technology standards, procurement, taxes and patent transfer requirements to give Chinese firms an unfair boost over foreign competitors. It is part of the call by US and other lobbyists for China to open up but at the same time enforce …
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US protectionism for a while
As Doha dies and economic pressures rise, there has been more commentary of trade and investment protectionism, particularly among US presidential candidates. The outlook is not good as this insightful comment from a global trade forum indicates: Bottom line: there are really only two things you can expect, on the whole, from the US on …
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Africa growing with China or the west
This Jamestown Institute article African Perspectives on China offers a summary of the growing relationship of Africa with the rest of the world, especially China. Two main conclusions are apparent: China deals with Africa in a straightforward way (eg access to oil for a railway or factory) which is difficult for western businesses, particularly American …
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