Negotiated by President Bush in 2004-2006, the U.S.-Panama free-trade agreement has since stalled in the face of congressional opposition. However, recent House votes have suggested a renewed interest in ratifying the agreement, which would normalize Panama’s status as a notorious tax haven for U.S.-based corporations, along with other, seedier entities.
For the past couple of months, the National Association of Manufacturing, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and their public relations hoplites have launched a campaign to invalidate Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The legislation, which was passed July 21, 2010, ostensibly requires public corporations to practice supply-chain due diligence. If a U.S. company gets its minerals from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it must be able to verify that it did not buy them from militias or warlords.
In his speech Thursday, President Obama is expected to express support for previously stalled trade pacts, even though government studies predict that they would increase the U.S. trade deficit and cost the United States more jobs.
In their new book China, the United States, and Global Order, British scholars Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter put U.S.-Chinese relations into a global context. Rejecting the realist assumption that norms do not matter, Foot and Walter try to identify the factors that shape Chinese and U.S. behavioral consistency (or lack thereof) with global norms. They provide an in-depth analysis of five key global normative frameworks: the non-use of force except in self defense and the responsibility to protect (R2P); international macroeconomic surveillance regarding exchange rates; nuclear non-proliferation; climate change; and financial regulatory norms.
Russia expressed optimism about its pipeline project from Russia to North Korea to South Korea.
In order to mine its resources a Texas-based firm sought to sign a 49-year lease for land in South Sudan for a paltry $25,000.
Oil has different meanings for different societies. For developed societies like the United States, Japan, and Western Europe, oil is like an addictive drug that people only want more and more of. It enables them to go everywhere. It helps them cook and regulate the temperature of their dwellings. Without oil, people in these societies couldn’t sustain their way of life. For these reasons, many countries go to war for the sake of securing access to oil.
However, oil has different significance for developing countries whose economies heavily depend on exporting oil and gas.
As the largest U.S. foreign creditor, China has a huge stake in ensuring the safety of its investments in U.S. treasury bills. Having closely observed the U.S. debt turmoil, China has likely concluded that the U.S. economy is in deep trouble and that full economic recovery might take quite some time. The Chinese, on the contrary, are convinced that their economy is on the rise. Consequently, they are more vocal than before when it comes to pointing fingers at U.S. economic behavior.
I’m sitting in Starbucks the other day eavesdropping on the conversation at the next table. A man in a suit is trying to sell something to a couple. I’m having a difficult time determining the product. But the pitch is familiar enough. By buying a large number of these items and selling them to their friends, neighbors, and colleagues, the couple will unleash their inner entrepreneur. They’ll make a modest investment and, in no time, score a lot of money. The man in the suit produces a lot of shiny, colorful pamphlets from his briefcase. He tells the couple about how much money he’s made. He tells stories of other lucky couples. He exudes confidence.
No one thinks that Republicans are truly concerned with excessive military spending, but with their posturing about spending cuts, they may have unleashed something they can’t control.