International Trade

This week, in the shadow of the Pacific trade talks and the introduction of fast-track trade promotion authority, negotiators from the European Union and the United States are convening in New York City for what may be some animated chicken...

It is impossible to deny that trade and exchange rates are closely linked. But does that mean that international trade agreements should include provisions governing national policies that affect currency values? It is impossible to deny that trade and exchange...

The bill that would grant President Obama trade promotion authority (fast track) is in for markup today.  That refers to the process where the initial bill is modified, re-written and amended before it comes up for a vote.  Although the...

Sometimes in politics, it is not the text that counts, but rather the context. Policies that are benign or even ignored by the electorate in one political constellation can suddenly fuel intense debate when there is a shift in the...

South Asian and Southeast Asian economies have all embraced an outward-oriented development strategy, albeit to different degrees. The result has been an impressive increase in international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, and significant productivity improvements, which in turn have...

Japan’s new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Yoshimasa Hayashi, who previously served in the position in 2012–14, was a logical choice to take over from his disgraced predecessor Koya Nishikawa. He arrived at the Prime Minister’s Office (Kantei)...

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is being vaunted as the world’s largest free trade agreement that promises to liberalise one-third of global trade. But TTIP is not without its detractors; critics of many stripes have raised concerns about...

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, will be the world’s biggest free trade agreement. It is geared toward increasing trade between the EU and the US by opening various markets currently restricted in access or closed by tariffs...

Economic relations between India and the United States seem to be going well. Prime Minister Modi and President Obama reinforced this in New Delhi endorsing the India–US Delhi Declaration of Friendship. But beneath the friendly joint statement of a new...

After over a gloomy decade of inconclusive talks, a small but important step was taken in early December 2014 to finish the Doha Round negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2015 and beyond, actions to arrive at a...

Australia’s farmers, particularly beef producers, may have celebrated too early when the Japan–Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) took effect on 15 January 2015. The deal may be gazumped by another that is taking shape between Japan and the United States...

It is official: India and the US will resume negotiations on a high-standard bilateral investment treaty (BIT). In a recent joint statement Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama affirmed their ‘shared commitment to facilitating increased bilateral investment flows...

Many bilateral FTAs signed to date in Asia have not brought significant commercial or domestic reform or benefits. For one thing, bilateral ‘free trade agreements’ (which are preferential in character) are less likely to deliver substantial trade opening benefits unless...

The critics were right. Ten years after the Australia–United States free trade agreement (AUSFTA) came into force, new analysis of the data shows that the agreement diverted trade away from the lowest cost sources. Australia and the United States have...

Amid a recovering world economy beset by risks, the outlook for Asia–Latin America economic ties seems bright. Asia needs commodities for its dynamic global factory and Latin America has abundant natural resources. Asia needs food for its large population and...