Will US-China Trade Talks Solve the Real Problems?
The announcement that trade talks in Beijing between the United States and China had been extended by a day sparked an uptick in stocks and renewed optimism that a resolution to the trade war might be in the offing. A minimal face-saving agreement should be possible before the March deadline, but this would only delay the ultimate day of reckoning. Friction points between China’s state-directed economic system and the United States’ ostensibly free market, free trade system will reassert themselves sooner rather than later.
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Do You Need Competition Policy When You Have Free Trade?
Domestic competition policies aim to promote equitable opportunities to compete in the marketplace. They are oriented toward fostering the most efficient use of resources and increasing the incentives to innovate, both of which result in lower prices, better quality, and more choice for consumers. But domestic competition policies have limitations when it comes to cross-border transactions.For over two decades in international forums, governments have discussed whether and how to develop common approaches to national competition policies.
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Trade Tensions Bubble Beneath the Surface of Your New Years’ Eve Champagne
Champagne is the drink of choice to celebrate many of life’s milestones and one country in particular benefits the most from this tradition: France. The European Union wants to ensure through trade agreements that only sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France can be labeled by law as Champagne.
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Cheddar is America’s Favorite Cheese. Thanks Britain.
Few Americans associate cheddar cheese with its ancestral home: Cheddar, in Somerset County, Britain. The name Cheddar, originally designating a unique geographic location, evolved into a generic description as the cheese was produced all over the world. And therein lies the heart of a modern trade dispute over “geographical indications,” or GIs for short.
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The Road to Brexit
The outcome of the UK's exit from the European Union (EU) single market and customs union has broad implications for the UK economy and its terms of trade with the rest of the world. "Brexit Day" on March 29 next year is drawing near. Here's a timeline of key events and milestones between 2015 and 2018 and what we should be on the lookout for in the first quarter of 2019.
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Is WTO Reform Necessary?
When the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was first agreed by 23 original contracting parties in 1947, there were no guarantees that the rules would endure. Today, WTO membership stands at 164 countries -- representing collectively, more than 98 percent of global trade. But for an institution to endure, it must remain relevant.
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The Global Space Economy is Taking Off Like a Rocket
Until recently, the gains from commercial use of space manifested primarily in the growing use of satellites that enable precise navigational maps in your car and the dish on your roof to channel satellite television into your home. A new era is dawning in which private companies routinely launch payloads into space. We’re a long way off from having the framework of rules we might need here on Earth to accommodate the take off of the global space industry.
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The U.S. Beef Industry Will Take NAFTA Well Done
The implementation of NAFTA has allowed U.S. beef trade to flourish, and the efficient supply chains developed under NAFTA have also helped the U.S. beef industry become more competitive in Asia.
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Trade Trends in 8 Charts
A picture is worth a thousand words. Explore and share today's biggest trade trends using these eight colorful charts.
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From the Bible to Chairman Mao’s Quotations: How Trade Agreements Can Promote Global Book Publishing
The popularity of American novels, textbooks, and scholarly works is driving efforts to translate and sell U.S.-published books in countries around the world. Digital publishing offers access to many more consumers beyond our borders. The main challenge to global expansion is the need to promote modern copyright regimes in the countries where publishers seek to sell more books
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