Below are some interesting Global Trade related links: PRI’s The World: An Alternative to the Panama Canal – They’ve been talking about making these “dry canals” for years. Doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense, but neither did the Panama Canal. NYTimes: Maersk Line Orders 10 Container Ships With Options to Buy More – […]
Well, I was wrong, The U.S. and South Korea did manage to get a Free Trade Agreement signed last month. This one, of course, replaces the FTA signed by President Bush in 2007. This deal is very similar to that one except it is better for the auto industry and worse for the meat industry. […]
President Obama appointed Bill Daley as White House Chief of Staff this week. I see this as a very positive development from a trade perspective as he has a history of being pro business and pro trade. I am hoping this will mean a new pushed on trade issues that have been all but ignored […]
Last June President Obama stood on the world stage and said he would have the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement sign on this trip to Asia. Last week, he against stood on the world stage on said trip to Asia and was forced to admit failure on this issue. The global trade world was hopeful […]
Rob Portman, United States Trade Representative under George W. Bush, was perhaps the most successful person to hold this job after Robert Zoellick. Last week he was elected to service in the Senate representing my home state of Ohio. He was hammered hard for his support of free trade during the campaign but managed to win by […]
Boeing spent years pushing U.S. administrations to pursue (largely legitimate) trade sanctions against Airbus at the WTO. These cases largely went in favor of the U.S. with the WTO ruling that Airbus had received government subsidies, considered illegal under WTO rules. Before these cases could be settled, potentially causing major problems for U.S.-European relations, comes […]
According to Washington Trade Daly The United Steelworks Union has recently filed a unfair trade practices petition with the office of the US Trade Representative. The letter maintains that several Chinese policies and practices are “illegal” and threatens the U.S. economy. In particular they maintain that the U.S. alternative and renewable energy sectors are being […]
Recent news suggests that the Obama administration is once again buckling to the pressure of labor unions, this time by pursuing trade sanctions against Guatemala. Yes, Guatemala. Forget that this is the big guy beating up on the little guy, or the rich guy beating up on the poor guy, Guatemala has signed a free […]
Indonesia is brining a case against the United States over the ban on clove cigarettes. The Americans claim the ban is meant to improve the health of young people. The Indonesians claim it is discriminatory as the ban specifically does not cover menthol cigarettes. This might have something to do with the strong tobacco lobby […]
Last month the WTO ruled against Airbus, stating that they had illegally received loans from European governments, giving them an unfair advantage over Boeing. This decision was obviously celebrated by the Americans. As with most legal cases however, this is not the end. The Europeans will appeal the case and say they will not stop […]
Perhaps one of the most interesting and underreported news items of the past year has been the progression of the China-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement (also know by the very Chinese sounding mouth-full of a name Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement or ECFA). It was less than twenty years ago that President Clinton had to send the […]
The last two years has been the dark ages for global trade. The combination of the economic downturn, a new American administration not inherently included to embrace free trade, and the stalled Doha Development Round has meant a lot of early night and long weekends at the World Trade Organization – nothing much has been […]
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