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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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The WTO is dead – should we revive it?

  “The WTO is dead: long live the WTO?” By Maria Demertzis, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute   The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is pivotal in enabling and protecting trade between countries. The recent US failure to appoint a judge at the WTO’s appellate court has meant that it will no longer be able to […]

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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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To fight entrenched poverty, Egypt MUST reform

  “Why Egypt is not on a path to end its long struggle with poverty” By Mahmoud Farouk, courtesy of Atlas Network   In 1979, Fouad Ajami wrote that Egypt finds herself between her “pride and place, between her limited material resources and her unbounded psychological esteem for herself, between her old glory and her current poverty.” […]

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Overturning trade preferences would hurt U.S. consumers, undercut developing countries

    U.S. retailers and clothing brands are asking Congress to overturn the bipartisan foundation of our economic partnership with Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a bipartisan effort to help unlock the continent’s vast potential, warn Whitaker Group CEO Rosa Whitaker and former US Textile Negotiator Gail Strickler in an op-ed published […]

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Maybe let’s not freak out about China, so much

  “A Useful Corrective to China Fearmongering” By Christoper A. Preble, courtesy of the Cato Institute   In our book, Fuel to the Fire, John Glaser, A. Trevor Thrall, and I lament how “the fear of a rising China” was fast becoming “the most popular candidate for a new guiding principle in U.S. foreign policy.” Indeed, […]

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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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Whither the EU? (Wither the EU?)

  “What Next, EU?” By Dr. Rudolf Pozgay, courtesy of the Austrian Economics Center   1.Introduction   The amount of economic and social challenges that the European Union has faced to date have given rise to the idea that EU reform is required. An example of such efforts is Juncker’s “White book” with five possible […]

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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 […]