Archive for Global Trade
(Not) Walking the Talk on Protectionism
· Comments“We reaffirm our commitment to maintain and promote open markets and reject all protectionist measures in trade and investment.”
This statement was issued by the leaders of 17 countries, including the United States, at the G-8 Summit earlier this summer. Last Friday, the Obama administration announced that it was implementing duties between 25 percent and 35 percent on tires imported from China. A few days later, China announced… Continue reading
World Trade to Decline 10 Percent in 2009
· CommentsLast Wednesday, the World Trade Organization released its annual report highlighting trends and statistics in global trade (see “World Trade Report 2009”). The WTO is forecasting a 10 percent decline in world merchandise trade this year (the WTO had predicted a 9 percent decline back in June, so their outlook has darkened). World merchandise trade slowed down significantly in 2008, growing only 2 percent in real terms, compared to… Continue reading
India Says ‘No Thanks’ To Carbon Limits
· CommentsThe big news last Thursday on the “green” front was Walmart’s announcement of its Sustainable Product Index. Just three days later, India’s Environmental Minister, Jairam Ramesh, underscored the large hurdles that exist in establishing global standards and agreements on climate change and sustainability. “There is simply no case for the pressure that we [India], who have among the lowest emissions per capita, face to actually reduce emissions,” Ramesh
Last week, I wrote about how Mexican truckers are suing the United States for $6 billion for not complying with the trucking provision of NAFTA (which follows the $2.4 billion in punitive tariffs Mexico slapped on U.S. exports back in March). Now our neighbors to the north are proposing taking action against the U.S. in response to the “Buy American” provision included in the stimulus package passed by… Continue reading
I generally leave the discussion of political issues that affect logistics to my colleague Adrian Gonzalez. But one issue that I have been tracking is the “reset economy,” the idea that once we emerge from this recession, certain industries may not bounce all the way back. In other words, they may not have the same growth and profitability they had before the recession. One scenario that could negatively affect… Continue reading
Swine Flu Supply Chain
· CommentsHistory has a bad habit of repeating itself, and over the past few days, an ever-present supply chain risk reemerged: the outbreak of a new infectious disease. In this case, swine influenza appears to have started in Mexico and is quickly spreading to other places around the world, including the United States, which formally declared a public health emergency yesterday (see Department of Homeland Security press briefing).
And… Continue reading
The Road to Cap-and-Trade
· CommentsCap-and-trade is a key component of President Obama’s proposed budget, and although Congress is currently reviewing the budget, steps are being taken that make cap-and-trade almost inevitable. Earlier this week, news came out that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the White House a proposed finding that carbon dioxide is a danger to public health. If this finding is approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget… Continue reading
A Trade War with Mexico
· CommentsIt’s been more than a decade in the making, but Mexico is finally taking action against the United States for violating the terms of NAFTA. Specifically, the U.S. was supposed to allow Mexican trucks to travel on border-state roads in 1995, and to drive anywhere in the country by January 2000. Citing safety concerns, the U.S. has kept this NAFTA provision stuck in 1995, restricting Mexican truckers to a 20-mile… Continue reading
