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The most unhelpful Brexit idea so far: UK-EU tariffs

  Just Say No To Uk-EU Tariffs By Simon Lester, courtesy of the Cato Institute   It’s hard to figure out sometimes whether Twitter reflects reality, but I’ve seen some discussion there suggesting that as part of the Brexit negotiations, the UK and the EU may be negotiating about the extent to which they will impose tariffs […]

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U.S.-China compromise is (mostly) good news

  “A Few Things to Like About the U.S.-China Trade Deal” By Daniel J. Ikenson, courtesy of Cato Institute   More clarity and more questions emerged over the weekend about the terms of the U.S.-China trade deal, which warrants an update to this preliminary assessment published on Friday.   The deal is pretty good for what is […]

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Trade deal will make it (even) harder for China to liberalize

  “Trump’s ‘Phase 1’ Deal with China Promotes US Exports in the Wrong Way” By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center   A novel feature of the Trump administration’s “Phase 1” trade deal with China announced last Friday is that it would require China to increase its purchase of US goods and services by […]

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Epic Fail: Trump’s trade policy in a nutshell

  “Trump’s Trade Policy Has Produced Damaging Tariffs but Little Else” By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center   Americans are about to enter the third full year of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff regime, which aims to promote US manufacturing, protect key industries, and prompt other nations to reduce their trade barriers. So, […]

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WTO disputes can be resolved faster, please

“Trade Justice Delayed Is Trade Justice Denied: How to Make WTO Dispute Settlement Faster and More Effective” By James Bacchus and Simon Lester, courtesy of the Cato Institute   International law is not known for being quick or effective. Cases can drag on for years, have limited legal force, and are infamous for noncompliance. Until […]

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Canada passed a free trade deal with itself – and it’s still not enough

  “Interprovincial trade: Alberta in first place, Quebec in last” Courtesy of MEI   While Canada continues to negotiate free trade agreements with numerous countries, the provinces maintain obstacles to trade within our own borders. The MEI and the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) have listed them from best to worst in a ranking of Canadian […]

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Why does Switzerland have sugar subsidies? Why does anyone?

  “Sweet temptation” By Dr. Patrick Dümmler, courtesy of Avenir Suisse   Something consumed by lots of people every day should never be in short supply, even in a crisis — or so the thinking goes. The Swiss Confederation therefore requires selected sectors to engage in stockpiling, in order to be able to ensure continued […]

Weekly Update

WEEKLY UPDATE: City air makes men free… so why not make new cities?

    After all, we’ve been doing it for thousands of years   It would be hard to list all the advantages that cities afford us, but the short version goes like this: urban centers concentrate labor, talent, wealth and innovation in a matrix that allows all of them to multiply and advance. Since ancient […]

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China Loses, Mexico Wins? Not So Fast!

  “China Loses, Mexico Wins?” By Manuel J. Molano, courtesy of IMCO and El Sol de México   Last September, Shannon O’Neil published an article in Bloomberg that said Mexico should benefit from the US trade war with China. O’Neil mentioned the openness of the Mexican economy, which is higher as a percentage of GDP than […]

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“A European pillar in NATO is overdue”

  “After the EU elections: Perspectives and priorities for 2019-2024” By Herman Van Rompuy, courtesy of the EPC   EPC President Herman Van Rompuy delivered the following speech at the EPC Annual Conference on 6 November 2019 in Brussels.    I want to talk to you today about European unity, European sovereignty and the future […]