Abstract: Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will put U.S. companies at a disadvantage with their global competitors unless Congress first exempts Russia from the application of the Jackson–Vanik Amendment, a tool from the 1970s designed to promote human rights that no…
Abstract: The 2012 rankings of trade freedom around the world indicate that trade freedom in the world has remained constant or regressed slightly since 2011. The lack of improvement is regrettable because countries with the most trade freedom have the highest per capita gross…
Abstract: There is great concern in the U.S. about Chinese currency policy costing American jobs. But over two decades, there has been no evidence that a weak yuan causes high American unemployment. What American policymakers should focus on is other Chinese actions that do…
Abstract: The scheduled autumn visit of China’s next Communist Party General Secretary, Xi Jinping, to Washington is a good opportunity for the U.S. to re-examine its often mismanaged economic diplomacy with China. Policymakers from both parties frequently point…
Abstract: Chinese investment in the rest of the world, especially in the United States, continues to be a controversial topic. It is important for policymakers to understand the scope of China’s investments, and unless there is a specific national security consideration, market principles should…
It seems like Vietnam has been the next big thing for quite a while. Vietnam did very well in the 1990s and through the turn of the century. For the past two years, however, despite all the advantages it possesses, the Vietnamese government has managed only to destabilize a promising…
The supply of rare earth elements continues to receive a great deal of attention on both commercial and national security grounds. As ever, there are various demands from various quarters that the U.S. government act to “fix the problem.” Most of these demands are mistaken. At present,…
“Smart power” is supposedly the Hegelian synthesis of soft and hard power instruments of foreign policy. In reality, though, it usually means downgrading hard power in favor of soft power, which is precisely what is happening in America today. Now, “smart power” has received its official stamp from the White…
Abstract: The Heritage Foundation began ranking trade freedom around the world in 1995. The newest rankings (to appear in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom) show global trade freedom as high as it has ever been. That is encouraging: Countries with higher levels of…
Abstract: President Obama has pledged to double U.S. exports over the next five years—an ambitious goal. But the President’s strategy of creating Export Promotion Cabinets and subsidizing loans is not the way to make that happen. The federal budget deficit—$1.4 trillion—is the largest obstacle…
On March 1, Brazil will announce a list of retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods—a response to the American government’s unwillingness to eliminate subsidies to domestic cotton producers. The World Trade Organization (WTO), in 2004 and again in 2005, deemed facets of America’s cotton program inconsistent with multilateral trade…
Abstract: Russia's revenues from oil and natural gas are enabling its aggressive and often anti-Western foreign policy. Russia's falling economic performance has toned down Russia's rhetoric, but has not drastically changed Russia's foreign policy narrative, which remains decidedly anti- status quo and implicitly anti-American.…
In the opening chapter of the 2010 Trade Policy Agenda and 2009 Annual Report, President Obama unveiled a trade agenda that aims to double U.S. exports within five years and create jobs.[1] Prominent on Obama’s trade to-do list is the implementation of the National Export Initiative (NEI),…
Abstract: The 2010 rankings of trade freedom in countries around the world, developed by The Heritage Foundation as part of its annual Index of Economic Freedom, show many countries moving ahead on their own to lower tariffs and cut other barriers to trade. However, multilateral efforts at the World Trade…
One positive outcome of President Obama's recent trip to Asia is a U.S. commitment to reengage in long-postponed negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Economic Strategic Partnership (TPP).[1] Brunei, Chile, Singapore, and New Zealand -- the current members of the trade pact -- designed the TPP…
The U.S., EU, and Japan are suing China in the World Trade Organization (WTO), calling Chinese export quotas on rare...…
With the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round of trade talks at a standstill, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard...…
On Friday the Kremlin announced that Russia and the U.S. settled all outstanding bilateral issues relating to Russia's...…
In remarks on World Environment Day, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Pascal Lamy, pointed...…
On April 6, last minute action by the Obama administration averted a near trade conflict with Brazil concerning the...…
The latest outbreak of creeping global protectionism is in Brazil, which announced March 8 that it intends to levy...…
The President’s recognition in last night’s Fox News interview that exports play an important role in bolstering U.S....…
President Obama has decided to apply heavy tariffs to passenger car and light truck replacement tires made in China....…
MOSCOW - In conjunction with the St Petersburg Economic International Forum, speculations over Russia’s accession to WTO...…
The G-20 summit communiqué has been released. As we predicted, it has something for everyone, though rather more for...…