Labor, Trade, & Finance Archives - Page 105 of 235

The Dracula Round

by Walden Bello, Mary Lou Malig, Emily Schwartz Greco | Aug 5, 2008

Like the good Count of Transylvania, the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round of negotiations has died more than once. It first collapsed during the WTO ministerial meeting held in Cancun in September 2003. After apparently coming back from the dead, many observers thought it passed away a second time during the so-called Group of Four meeting in Potsdam in June 2007 — only to come back yet again from the dead. Now the question is whether the unraveling of the most recent “mini-ministerial” gathering in Geneva was the silver stake that pierced the trade round’s heart, rendering Doha dead forever.

Heroes of Beijing: The Triumph of the West

by Alan Bairner, Erik Leaver | Jul 30, 2008

While most of the recent attention that has been focused on the Beijing Olympic Games has been concerned with civil rights and environmental issues, virtually no comment has been made on the fact that by hosting the games, China becomes yet one more country to enter into what is essentially a pact with the devil with capital on the one hand and western sporting “ideals” on the other.

Obama Should Stay Tough On Trade

by Mark Engler | Jul 22, 2008

Speaking at a February campaign rally, Sen. Barack Obama decried “leaders [who] change their positions on trade with the politics of the moment.” He argued, “We need a president who will listen to Main Street – not just Wall Street; a president who will stand with workers, not just when it’s easy, but when it’s hard.”

The WTO’s Raw Deal on Services

by Walden Bello, John Feffer | Jul 17, 2008

Desperate to clinch a new global trade deal, World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy is planning to convene a "mini-ministerial" meeting in the third week of July. The aim of the meeting is to come up with agreements to liberalize trade in agriculture, industry, and services. These sectors have been the focus of the so-called Doha Round of WTO negotiations that have dragged on since 2001.

The Commodities Bubble

by Sameer Dossani, Emily Schwartz Greco | Jun 27, 2008

For those following economic trends, the past 18 months are notable primarily for two reasons. First, the U.S. housing market, long seen as overvalued by alternative economists and even powerful economic institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), finally went from boom to bust. Over the span of a few months, housing in some markets depreciated by as much as 30%, and some economists estimate that losses may ultimately reduce value by as much as 50% in some cities.

Africa’s Unnatural Disaster

by Sameer Dossani, Emily Schwartz Greco | Jun 26, 2008

While the mainstream media doesn’t always ignore the pressing issue of hunger in Africa, it rarely explores the root causes of this problem. Behind most news on the issue, there’s an assumption that casts hunger as a natural result of unfortunate weather conditions, coupled with bureaucratic inefficiency and bad economic planning.

South Korea’s Beef with America

by Christine Ahn, John Feffer | Jun 13, 2008

On June 10, one million South Koreans from all walks of life poured onto the streets of Seoul, the nation’s capital, to protest the newly elected President Lee Myung Bak’s deal with the United States to fully open Korean markets to U.S. beef.

The Failed Expectations of U.S Trade Policy

by Robert Cassidy, John Feffer | Jun 4, 2008

As the principal negotiator for the landmark market access agreement that led to China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), I have reflected on whether the agreements we negotiated really lived up to our expectations. A sober reflection has led me to conclude that those trade agreements did not.

Destroying African Agriculture

by Walden Bello, John Feffer | Jun 3, 2008

Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. Here the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) figure as much more important villains.

Hungry for Justice

by Sameer Dossani, Emily Schwartz Greco | May 30, 2008

When Paul Konar left his native India for the United States in 2006, he could never have imagined that less than two years later, he and several of his co-workers would be giving a lesson in Indian-style change making. Yet Konar, joined by his supporters and fellow fasters, has been on a vigil in Washington, DC for 17 days. He hasn’t eaten anything since May 14.