• Chinese Recruit Top Executives Trained Abroad (WSJ 30-11-04) $$

• India and China: destined to converge? (IHT 21-11-04) [Full McKinsey report]--

• A New Pattern Is Cut for Global Textile Trade China Likely to Dominate as Quotas Expire (WP 17-11-04)

• Trade Pact Tests Malaysia's Car-Import Barriers (WSJ 12-11-04)

• US-China trade relations take turn for worse (FT 11-5-04)

• It is time for China to unshackle the price of money (Economist 11-4-04)

• India and China: Class of the Titans (Economist 11-4-04)--India increasingly sees China as a friend. But what does China think?

• Outsourcing Finds Vietnam (NYT 9/30/04)--

• A whole new world (WSJ 27-9-04)--Competition from China and India is changing the way businesses operate everywhere. Here's what companies are -- and aren't -- doing to survive.

• East Asian trade [Economist 2/26/04]--Why Asian countries are racing to sign bilateral trade deals with each other

• China's Price for Market Entry: Give Us Your Technology, Too [WSJ 2/26/2004]--As China seeks to compete in health care, power generation and a range of other advanced manufacturing sectors, the nation is pushing for crown jewels of technology from companies that want access to its exploding marketplace.

• Africa seeks help to withstand Chinese textile dominance [FT 2/20/04]

• Long a Low-Tech Power, China Sets Its Sights on Chip Making [WSJ 2/17/04]--Beijing Dangles Fat Incentives To Lure Plants, Know-How; Taiwanese at the Helm -- Japanese Capital and Jobs Flowing to China [NYT 2/17/2004]

• China Rethinks The Peg Tying Yuan and Dollar [WSJ 2/13/04]

• Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart's Low Prices [WP 2/8/04]--Retailer Squeezes Its Asian Suppliers to Cut Costs

• China, India confront the Wal-Marts [Asia Times 1/30/04]--The world's largest and second largest consumer markets are opening their retail sectors to foreign investment. Democratic India traditionally has been wary of big outside investors, and faces popular resistance. Authoritarian China is rushing ahead, driven to modernize, but it, too, faces problems

• As China Surges, It Also Proves A Buttress to American Strength [WSJ 1/30/04]--Subscription required.  "The U.S.'s burgeoning ties with China have become treacherous terrain. Amid worries about U.S. jobs, many are clamoring to curb the "China threat." But the nation has become a lightening rod for America's economic security, even as Beijing's rise supports U.S. power."

• Chinese Seek Greener Pastures [WSJ 1/30//04]--China is turning its sights outward, looking to invest overseas in a search for new markets that could expand its economic clout in Asia. Subscription required

• China's Leaders Manage Class Conflict Carefully [NYT 1/25/04]--China is living through a Gilded Age of inequality, whose benefits are not trickling down to the rural residents who live off the land or flock to the cities.

• India: the new tiger [Guardian 1-25-2004]--It's not just IT, manufacturing is adding to the nation's feelgood factor. But infrastructure reforms are still essential if the momentum is to be kept up... 

• A Year of Worry for Cambodia's Garment Makers [NYT 1/24/04]

• Asian Dollar Mystery [WP 1/6/2004]--Why have China and Japan continued to accumulate large dollar surpluses -- financing the U.S. trade deficit in the process -- even as the value of those dollars has continued to plummet?

• South Asia Looks to Sign Free Trade Pact [NYT 12/31/03]--A new free trade agreement in South Asia.

• The rise of Asia gathers speed [NYT 12/29/03]--GOOD SURVEY

• China Moves to Protect Property [NYT 12/23/03]--A turning point in China's transition

• For a Few Dollars Less, TV Making Moves Abroad [NYT 12/22/03]--The future of television production, like that of many other consumer goods, lies largely in low-cost areas of Asia, especially China.

• China closes technology gap with S Korea [FT 12/21/03]

• China looks overseas to add tech vigour [FT 5/27/03]

• Yuan's Peg to Dollar Benefits Exporters' Business in China [WSJ 5/27/03]--China may boost exports as a weaker dollar leads to a depreciated yuan, making Chinese commodities more competitive and putting pressure on Asian companies already scrambling to compete.

• Asian Nations Gain Indirectly From Dollar's Declining Value [NYT 5/21/03]

• Need for Surgical Masks in Asia Takes Bite From Cosmetic Sales [WSJ 5/7/02]--Women across Asia are wearing surgical face masks to ward off SARS, and foregoing makeup, sending sales of cosmetics into a tailspin.  WHOA!!!!

• Even With Glut, Shrimp Farmers Want Still More and Others Balk [NYT 5/7/03]

• Deal Limits Vietnamese Imports [LAT 4/27/03]

• Virus Takes Toll on Asian Dynamos [WP 4/26/03]--Analysts at the World Bank and other financial institutions this week shaved growth estimates for Asian countries especially in the economies hardest hit by SARS, cutting Hong Kong's predicted growth rate in half and Singapore's by one-third.

• Europe Puts Tariffs on Seoul Chip Maker [NYT 4/25/03]

• Economies Sickened by a Virus, and Fear [NYT 4/21/03], WSJ 4/21/03

• How U.S. Trash Helps Fuel China's Economy [WSJ 4/9/03]

• Global Investors Shift Interest To Asian Firms Outside China [WSJ 3/31/03]--Squeezing investment gains from China's booming economy has proved elusive for international investors. Now, some are changing their strategy, skipping Chinese companies in favor of enterprises in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and elsewhere in Asia that build the machines or sell the raw materials China depends on to grow.

• China Girds for War Impact On Import-Reliant Economy [WSJ 3/19/03]

• China Reforms Bring Back Executives Schooled in U.S. [WSJ 3/6/03]--Brain drain.

• China: Partner, Rival or Both? [NYT 3/2/03]--China and the US.  Long, thoughtful piece

• Regional trade deals scare India [Asia Times 2/2003]

• Chinese Computer Maker Plans a Push Overseas [NYT 2/22/03]--Product-life cycle?

• Trading With a Low-Wage Tiger [American Prospect 2/1/03]--What happens to everyone else when China sucks up so much of the world's economic growth?

• China Is Economic Bright Spot, Topping U.S. as Investment Hub [WSJ 1/25/03]--Can China save the world economy?

• Flawed bid to woo overseas Indians [Asia Times 1/21/03|

• The other side of China's success story [FT 1/19/03]

• U.S. Reports a Final Deal for Singapore Trade Pact [NYT 1/17/03]

• China Gambles on Big Projects for Its Stability [NYT 1/13/03]

• India Harvests Fruits of a Diaspora [NYT 1/12/03]--20 million Indians living abroad generate an annual income equal to 35 percent of India's gross domestic product [WP 1/13/03]

• Multinationals Crack Market In China by Adopting Customs [WSJ 1/09/03]

• Rift on Capital Controls Snags Singapore Trade Pact [NYT 1/9/02]

• Sex Trade Thrives In China [WP 1/4/03]

• China May Lose Shine As Manufacturing Base [WSJ 12/30/02]--in some of its most popular manufacturing centers, costs are starting to rise.

• For New Balance, a Surprise: China Partner Became Rival [WSJ 12/19/02]

• Car Loans Fueling China's Independence From Agriculture [WP 12/17/02]--Consumers in other developing countries have typically become willing and able to buy cars.when their income reach $3000/year.  Lot of info on Chinese auto market and banking

• China's Hot, at Least for Now [NYT 12/16/02]--Its output is about a quarter of Japan's and about a ninth that of the United States

• World's Car Makers Race To Keep Up as China Zooms [WSJ 12/13/02]--China now is the 4th largest auto market

• VIETNAM: Vietnam and the United States [Economst 12/12/02]--Case of the ghostly catfish

• China's Year in WTO Gets a Mixed Review [WP 12/12/02]

• The Myth of China's Middle Class [LAT 12/08/02]

• Japanese Wage Peace With Talks and Money, Pleasing Asians [NYT 12/08/02]

• China Is Using Its New Economic Weight to Outmaneuver Japan [NYT 12/6/02]

• IS CHINA'S ECONOMIC BOOM A MYTH? [The New Republic 12/16/02]--Cover story

• Workers in China Fail As Owners of Factories [WP 12/04/02]--China appears to be undergoing a second, more wrenching round of ownership change. This time, managers and outside investors are taking enterprises away from workers, almost always with the support of local officials and often through corrupt or questionable methods.

• Deflation Out of China? [WP 12/04/02]--A balanced view, very good.  SHOULD READ

• Greater China [BW 12/09/02 Cover story]--How leaders from the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are creating an integrated powerhouse

• India's Poor Starve as Wheat Rots [NYT 12/03/02]

• China's neighbours get nervous [FT 12/02/02--Thoughtful MUST READ

• Japan's Economy Is in Dire Straits As Jobless Rate Rises, Output Falls [WSJ 11/29/02]--Update on the Japanese economy

• Once a Close Economic Rival of China, India Falls Behind [NYT 11/29/02]--

• Whither Singapore Inc? [Economist 11/28/02]--Singapore's unique brand of capitalism needs an overhaul. Will Ho Ching do the right thing?

• China's Congress of Crony Capitalists [NYT 11/9/02]--Dictatorship of the proletariat has failed in China. So the Communist Party is giving plutocracy a chance.

• Southeast Asian Countries Agree to Expand Trade With Japan [NYT 11/5/02]

• China and Neighbors Move Ahead on Trade and Island Issues [NYT 11/5/02]

• Beijing's balancing act on reform [FT 11/4/02]

• Asean signs trade accord with China [FT 11/4/02]

• People's Republic of Products [LAT 10/20/02]--3 articles on emerging China's maufacturing might

• Another Asian Nation Battling a Crisis [NYT 10/26/02]--Banking crisis in China

• East Asia’s economies [Economist 10/17/02]--The effects of Bali

• Japan softens stand over Asian trade [FT 9/13/02]--Japan said it was prepared to put agriculture on the table to advance talks with  ASEAN

• ASEAN Backs China Trade Deal Amid Investment Concerns [WSJ 9/13/02] Asean, has endorsed a plan to pursue a free-trade agreement with China and signaled it is also plans to negotiate a possible East Asia free-trade area encompassing Asean plus China, South Korea and Japan.

• Japan Likely to Cut Aid to China [WP 9/10/02]

• Footwear Is Fleeing Indonesia, Raising Competition Questions [WSJ 9/9/02]--Since 1996, Indonesia's share of Nike footwear-production volume has shrunk to 30% from 38%. Meanwhile, Vietnam's share has shot to 15% from 2%. Whither the "flying geese" theory?

• Japan: A Patient Predator? [BusinessWeek 9/9/02]--Review of a book by Ivan Hall which says that the US has been bamboozled by Japan's empty promise to reform its economy

• China Struggles to Cut Reliance on Mideast Oil [NYT 9/3/02]

• Taiwanese Firm Plans a Foundry in China [LAT 8/31/02]

• Thailand Is Greatest Beneficiary Of Japanese Firms' Restructuring [WSJ 8/26/02]--Thailand is the third-most-attractive destination for future Japanese investment world-wide, trailing only China and the U.S.

• Chinese communists set for policy shift [FT 8/27/02]

• China gears up to halt capital flight [FT 8/21/02]

• China's trade surplus with the US expands [WSJ 8/21/02]--Good piece on trends.  China entering WTO may not as beneficial to US as first thought.

• Japan delights at scandal-hit US model [FT 8/15/02] (subscribers only)

• Asean Says It Must Do More To Create Free-Trade Area [WSJ 8/14/02]

• Unlike Japan, U.S. Adapts, Moves On {LAT 8/11/02]

• IMF's Indonesia 'solution' leaves bitterness [FT 8/8/02]

• In China, Foundation Is Set For a Banking Crisis to Erupt [WSJ 8/7/02 - subscribers only] Is China heading for a Latin-American style meltdown?

• The Asian crisis: Five years on [FT 8/6/02]--Looking back at the crisis.  (Good article but probably can only be accessed by subscribers)

• Getting China’s regions moving [OECD Observer June 2002]--China has enjoyed unparalleled growth, but more has to be done to steer investment into the remoter regions and western provinces.

• China's market Economy is Less Efficient than the Planned Model [FEER]

• China vs. Japan: A Phony Trade War [BusinessWeek]

• Japan Seeks Talks With China to Avert Trade War [WP]

• A Golden Age for China? [BusinessWeek July 9, 2002]

• Beijing Rulers and the Almighty Dollar [Globalist 1/15/02]

• China, Globalization, and the IMF [IMF]--Speech by Eduardo Aninat (IMF Deputy Managing Director)

▲ Back to Topics

Latin America

• As Jobs Move East, Plants in Mexico Retool to Compete [WSJ 3/5/04]--Mexican factories that have lost jobs to China are moving up the manufacturing food chain, retooling to make more advanced products traditionally made by small plants in the U.S

• Looming Battle Over Cotton Subsidies [NYT 1/24/04]--Brazil sues US over cotton subsidies

• The Broken Promise of Nafta [NYT 1/6/04]--by Stiglitz

• Free Trade Accord at 10: Growing Pains Are Clear [NYT 12/27/03]--Good review of NAFTA after 10 years.

• Sugar, Textiles Sour on CAFTA Deal [Miami Herald 12/23/03]

• Trade pact a gamble for Bush [Guardian 12/19/03]--The US government risks alienating crucial voters by agreeing to the new Cafta deal.

• Mexico sees modest gains from Nafta [FT 12/17/03]--Mexico's ability to benefit had been limited by domestic policy shortcomings, particularly weak economic institutions, a poor education system and rigid labour laws.

• Argentina's economy [Economist 1/9/03]

• U.S. Begins Talks for Trade Pact With Central Americans [NYT 1/9/03]

• Mexico's Factories Shift Gears to Survive [LAT 1/5/03]--Competing with cheaper products from Asia, the sector is investing in technology and seeking new customers.

• U.S. and Chile Reach Free Trade Accord [NYT 12/12/02]

• Analysts Sharply Divided on Outlook for Brazil [NYT 10/11/02]

• Free-Market Upheaval Grinds Mexico's Middle Class [NYT 9/04/02]

• A Second Chance for Brazil and the I.M.F. [NYT 8/14/02]--Opinion by Stiglitz.

• Baffled by Brazil [FT 8/13/02]--The IMF's bailout exposes the failure of Paul O'Neill's attempted new approach to financial crises, says Ricardo Hausmann.

▲ Back to Topics

Globalization

• Textile industry: The looming revolution (Economist 11-11-04)

• Stiglitz: It is time for a true development trade round [FT 4-20-04]--"The disparity between a true development agenda and what has evolved since Doha is glaring"

• Trade Theory vs. Used Clothes in Africa (NYT 6/3/04)

• Migration of Skilled Jobs Abroad Unsettles Global-Economy Fans [WSJ 1/26/04]--"Outsourcing is raising fears, even among globalization champions, that skilled workers in developed countries won't find equally well-paid jobs if the work goes elsewhere."

• What if poor nations actually caught up with rich ones? [Foreign Policy Jan-Feb 2004]--By Kenneth Rogoff

• Don't Cry for Cancún [Foreign Affairs Jan/Feb 2004]--"Despite the dramatic collapse of the recent trade talks in Cancún, things aren't nearly as bad as they seem. Cancún was no Seattle, as will soon become clear when progress resumes on Doha Round negotiations. Fault for the conference's breakdown lies with all the major parties, but the damage can quickly be remedied."  says Jagdish Bhagwati 

• Globalisation by the people, for the people [Independent 12/31/02]--The mobile-powered spread of telephony and the movement of people across borders are linked   Globalisation is taking place under the radar, on a small scale, in the choices being made by hundreds of millions of individuals around the world.   EXCELLENT TREND SPOTTER

• More 'Can I Help You?' Jobs Migrate From U.S. to India [NYT 5/11/03]

• On global inequality [Boston Globe 1/05/03]--Excellent survey, MUST READ

• Sustainable Development Gains University Cachet [WSJ 11/29/02]--On Sachs and related

• The challenge for the multilateral trade system [FT 11/18/02]

• Europe Strains to Put Laggards Back in Line [NYT 10/27/02]--Some countries in Europe are not as well off as others.  This puts strain on the European monetary union.

• Seeking Investment, Egypt Tries Patent Laws [NYT 10/4/02]

• Rich Nations Are Criticized for Enforcing Trade Barriers [NYT 9/30/02]--Much information --

• Calculating Checks and Balances at the World Bank [NYT 9/29/02]--Problems at the WB.

• International Monetary Failure? [WP 9/27/03]--Editorial

• It is not just anti-globalisation protesters who are wondering whether the IMF knows what it is doing [Economist 9/26/02]

• IMF's 'Consensus' Policies Fraying [WP 9/26/02]

• Worldwide foreign investment inflows halve [FT 9/17/02]--World Investment Report 2002 [DITE]- FDI country rankings [FT 9/17/02]

• Patents and the Poor [FT 9/16/02]--Jagdish Bhagwati

• Addiction to Sugar Subsidies Chokes Poor Nations' Exports [WSJ 9/16/02]

• Is Stiglitz Right? [UK Prospect August 2002]-

• World Bank Study Contradicts Its Free-Trade Income Theories [WSJ 8/23/02]--The study, based on a review of national surveys of household income in 88 developing countries, concludes that trade and investment liberalization promotes income equality only among middle-income and rich countries. Among poor countries -- those with per-capita incomes of less than $5,000 a year -- it simply increases inequality.

• The Free-Trade Fix [NYT 8/17/02]--So far, globalization has failed the world's poor. But it's not trade that has hurt them. It's a rigged system

• Globalization Good for Whom? [Harvard Business School]--The rules of globalization aren't fair to poor countries, says Harvard University professor Dani Rodrik. In this article from Harvard Magazine, Rodrik, a specialist in international political economy, says it will take a lot of work to make globalization's rules friendlier to poor nations. But developing nations have responsibilities as well.

• A complex and enduring globalisation [FT 8/4/02]--Opinion by Moises Naim on globalization in the aftermath of 9/11

• Samuel Brittan on Globalization [Financial Times]

• Globalization and Prosperity [Economist]--How trade is good for you (a report by the World bank--subscription required)

• John Kay: Geography Still Matters [FT Jan 10, 01]--Globalisation has not diminished the economic importance of location

• Globalization Marches On, as U.S. Eases Up on the Reins [NYT] 12/17/01

• Results of the WTO meeting in Doha (November 15, 2001)

• Why "Globalization" Didn’t Rescue Russia [Policy Review]

▲ Back to Topics

US Trade Policy

• Behind Big Drop in Currency: Imbalance in Global Economy (WSJ 2-12-04)

• W.T.O. Authorizes Trade Sanctions Against the United States [NYT 11-26-04]

• The Americas' Textile Industries Won't Die When Quotas Do [WP 11-18-04]

• Europe v America [Economist June 17, 04]--"America is widely admired as the beauty queen of the economic world. But the euro area's figures are more shapely than its reputation suggests".  EXCELLENT ARTICLE. 

• Imports Help Consumers -- If Not Politicos [WSj 3/26/2004]

• What Goes Abroad Usually Comes Back, With Benefits By Hal Varian [NYT 3/11/2004]

• A Heftier Dose To Swallow [WP 3/6/04]--Rising Cost of Health Care in U.S. Gives Other Developed Countries an Edge in Keeping Jobs

• In North Carolina, Furniture Makers Try to Stay Alive [WSJ 2/20/2004]

• 'Offshoring' Has Its Trade-Offs [WP 2/11/04]--Analysis by Steven Perlstein continue, continue. An economist's moment of truth [Gerard Baker in FT 2/18/04]

• Whose Problem Is Health Care? [NYT 2/8/04]--Health care costs give the US a comparative disadvantage

• Imagining Life Without Illegal Immigrants [NYT 1/11/04]

• Bush's Dollar Gamble [WP 5/21/03]--Commentary by Samuelson

• U.S. Dollar's Slide Could Push Europe Closer to a Recession [WSJ 5/20/03]

• British Columbia Initiates Change in Lumber Pricing [WSJ 3/27/03]

• W.T.O. Rules Against U.S. on Steel Tariff [NYT 3/26/03] [WP 3/27/03]

• U.S. Seeks to End Many Tariffs [WP 2/12/03]--Bush Plan for Latin Trade Causes Debate in Textile Industry

• Free-Trade Discord Looms for Americas [WSJ 12/31/02]--With elections and trade-talk deadlines approaching, President Bush may soon have to choose between making friends in Latin America and keeping friends in political battlegrounds such as Florida and West Virginia

• Tariffs on Canadian Lumber Backfire on U.S. Government [WSJ 10/21/02]--Adverse effect of tariffs.  FASCINATING!!!

• Strong Dollar Runs Into Renewed Resistance [NYT 10/19/02] Useful information and analysis

• Tariffs strike blow to US steel industry [FT 10/16/02]--The US International Trade Commission ruled on Wednesday that imports of cold-rolled steel from 15 countries, including France, Germany and Russia, were not hurting US steelmakers.

• Does the Law of Gravity Apply to the Dollar? [NYT 9/29/02]--The imbalances in the American economy are now so big that they pose a "significant risk" to global financial stability.

• Can the U.S. Boost Economies Of Others and Stay Healthy? [WSJ 9/20/02]

• Competition From Imports Hurts U.S. Furniture Makers [WSJ 9/20/02]--The success of Chinese furniture makers follows a familiar pattern. In industry after industry -- such as toys, machine tools and personal computers -- China is sucking in foreign investment for new factories, with each business in turn breeding legions of Chinese competitors. "

• Lines Are Drawn in Debate on U.S. Tariffs [LAT 9/15/02]--"What if we went to war with China?" he asked. "Where would we get our shoes?" [Some argue that biggest beneficiaries of tariff removals are middlemen and retailers]

• US cotton growers crying foul over China [FT 9/13/02]

• Why have the economic policies pursued by Republican administrations been so lousy [FR 9/12/02]--By Jeffrey Frankel.  Intersting take! "Republican presidents are drawn from what John S. Mill used to call the stupid party"

• So Far, Steel Tariffs Do Little Of What President Envisioned [WSJ 9/13/02}--"Six months later, the gambit has backfired on nearly every front" CHOCKFULL OF USEFUL INFORMATION

• Trade Gap Widens to Record, Menacing Economic Recovery [WSJ 9/13/02]--FDI in the U.S. fell to its lowest level since 1995.

• Airbus angry at US lobbying in Taiwan deal [FT 9/13/02]

• US to propose end to steel sector subsidies [FT 9/9/02]

• W.T.O. Allows Europe to Impose Record Sanctions Against U.S. [NYT 8/30/02] FT .  Follow-ups: NYT  WP  Good summary: Business Week

• With Steel Shift, Bush Makes Enemies but Reaches Goal [WP 8/29/02]

• Trade Panel Rejects a New Tariff on Imported Steel [NYT 8/28/02]--Some good background information.  More in WSJ, WP

• On the West Coast, Tariffs Give Edge to Foreign Steel [WSJ 8/23/02]--Unintended consequences of US tariffs on steel:  Rather than being hurt by the US tariffs, foreign-owned steel companies have become stronger because the tariffs have helped raise prices and given the domestic steelmakers enough business on the East Coast that they have little reason to ship steel to the West.

• Trade Bill To Help Laid-Off Workers [WP 8/03/02]--Among the new benefits such workers will receive are a federal tax credit to help cover the cost of health insurance.

• House Narrowly Passes Trade Bill Giving Fast-Track Authority to Bush (December 7, 2001)--Collected news accounts

▲ Back to Topics

Multinational Corporations

• Companies 'bigger than many nations' [FT 8/12/02]

• Musical Chairs on Tax Havens: Now It's Ireland [NYT 8/3/02]

• U.S. Loses Trade Case to Europeans on Offshore Tax Havens [NYT 1/15/02]

• INTELLLECTUAL PROPERTY WARS [Arts Journal]--Useful threads

• Oil Prices Won't Depend on Iraq, but on Its Neighbors [NYT 8/25/02]-by oil expert David Yergin

• France May Limit Prostitution [WP 8/11/02]--Foreign competition!

• Rudiger Dornbusch [Economist 8/8/02]

• Treasure in L.A.'s Trash [LAT 8/9/02]--The region's biggest pulp export isn't action movies. It's the used cardboard box, the envy of the world and the basis of a huge market. INTERESTING FACT!

▲ Back to Topics