A New Barrier to American-Chinese Trade

Well, since we won’t have any videos this week, and teams won’t be analyzing any new issues, I’d like to share a link to a short article that I found on Foreign Affairs some time ago. I think this article is quite interesting to analyze, especially because its content is closely related to what we have seen in class during this partial.

Here’s the link to Robert McMahon’s “Daily Analysis”:
Foreign Affairs - Ill Trade Winds with Beijing

This article discusses the reasons behind a new tariff that the Obama administration placed on imported Chinese tires, after a petition was filled by the United Steelworkers Union. Some claim this tariff was necessary, since the great percentage of Chinese imports (17% of tires in the US) caused American factories to close. Most analysts, however, comment on the negative outcomes that this decision could have. First of all, many are concerned about a Chinese reprisal against American products, which could end up in an escalation of protectionism between the economies of these two countries, or even trade war. Then, there’s the risk of raising Chinese nationalism or of triggering China’s return to a more closed market. Besides, this shouldn’t have happened just before the G-20 summit, when cooperation between these powerful countries was most needed.

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Sarkozy's Obama envy...

I was reading a very interesting article and I decided to share it with you guys. It talks about how presidents can affect the relationship between countries, using Sarkozy and Obama, along with Gordon Brown as examples.

The article makes reference to the G20 convention in Pittsburgh earlier this week, and how Sarkozy looked a little jealous of Obama, even though they fought for the same things at the events. The reason for this is that Sarkozy has been a pioneer of several new things during his time as president, and in some measure, Obama has been the follower.

This time, Obama was in the spotlight in an event that was promoted by the Fench president, and he certainly did not like this. The relations between countries are not fractured or anything, but do you think that this situation between the presidents could affect alliances in the future?

To read more, please visit...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/216240

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Global Economic Cooperation....G20 Meeting on the way!

I am not going to keep my pleasure a secret! How fitting that we are discussing globalisation and economic integration, whilst under our very noses and in front of our eyes we are witnessing economic events whose impacts are expected to be long-lasting, and perhaps fundamentally change the very nature of the economic system in which we live.

We talk about globalisation, and if you like, you may now say that even regulation is becoming globalised - countries, in the wake of the economic crisis, want to work together more and more, to prevent future problems. Such acts can only serve to economically integrate countries further, albeit without a formal document or agreement.

So my pleasure stems from the fact that all what I speak about in class can be directly connected to the world around us - we are not looking at history, nor are we looking at the future, but today Ladies and Gentlemen. Always take the chance to read and passively learn more - even if you don´t understand everything, constant exposure helps you build knowledge.

A new era of global economic co-operation.


This article written by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses his (and we can assume the British people) views on what must be done at the upcoming G20 meeting. I want to draw your attention to two parts:

"Now is not the time to lose our focus, however – the recovery is not automatic – rather it is the moment to redouble our efforts. We must not switch off the life support we are giving to our economies. People are still losing their jobs, their homes and – in some cases – their hope and we must not fail them. Complacency is the enemy of recovery.

So at next week's G20 Summit in Pittsburgh concerted international co-operation is again required. To this end, I am proposing a new global compact to entrench economic recovery and secure stability, growth and jobs."


Here, he proposes his idea for a "global compact." Later, he goes on to say......

"Our international financial institutions have a vital role in supporting this drive to recovery and growth, so I have been consulting widely within the G20 and beyond to develop proposals on modernising them.

They must be better placed to meet the challenges of globalisation, promote sustainable global growth and prevent and respond to future crises."

And there you have the connection with globalisation. You see how international institutions, economic globalisation, and the world economy in general, are all connected?

Comments on this article, and an exploration of your own thoughts, are as always most welcome.

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