“Foreign reference pricing” is just price controls by the backdoor The world is full of bad ideas that self-interested parties sometimes try to bring to these shores, swearing up and down they’re actually good: karaoke, kale, Neti pots, the Yugo, the Macarena, Gerard Depardieu — the list goes on. To this hall of shame must […]
Tag: Trade
New Protectionism: Still Protectionism and Bad Economics
By Veronique de Rugy, courtesy of the Mercatus Center For several years now, news headlines have reflected anxieties about the effects of globalization and freeing trade: Will jobs evaporate? Does China have an “unfair” advantage? Is the middle class disappearing? These fears need to be addressed, because they have resulted […]
The digital revolution is losing steam
“Dissecting the global growth and productivity slowdown” By Robert Stehrer, courtesy of WIIW Growth rates in the global economy since the financial crisis have been subdued compared to the boom phase at the beginning of this century (see Figure 1). Compared to the period 2000-06 average real GDP growth slowed from more […]
Future EU, global trade deals will be harder than Brexiters think
“Britain has not yet faced its hard choices” By Daniel Wincott, courtesy of UK in a Changing Europe ‘Global Britain’ is the ultimate goal for many Brexiters. They see new, tailored trade deals around the world as Brexit’s great prize. Fast-growing economies, including India, China and Brazil, feature prominently. Critics counter that increasing […]
Post-election U.S.-UK trade deal?
“UK Election Could Open Door for an Ambitious US-UK Trade Agreement” By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center The British Parliament voted this week to hold a national election on December 12. If the Conservative Party holds on to its lead in the polls, the results could deliver an early Christmas […]
How should small countries navigate a “tripolar” world?
“The political dimension of a Swiss-US trade agreement” By Jennifer Anthamatten and Patrick Dümmler, courtesy of Avenir Suisse In the last two decades, global trade flows have shifted markedly, and the current geopolitical structure is in transition. The time in which there was an undisputed hegemon seems to be ending. Instead, a future […]
Trade uncertainty slowing global economy
“A Fear of Regime Change is Slowing the Global Economy” By Uri Dadush, courtesy of Bruegel Institute Global GDP has slowed sharply, from near 4% in late 2017 to half that rate on an annualised basis in recent quarters. The downturn in fortunes over the last two years has come as a big surprise. […]
Achieving Economic Security Depends on Assuring National Security
By James Edwards, Executive Director of Conservatives for Property Rights “Economic security is national security.” Different officials have made this statement over the years. Only, now the news has begun to catch up and validate the truth it expresses. Reports have proliferated, exposing various ways America’s competitors — particularly China and […]
Winds of change for the EU and Morocco
By James Moran, CEPS After a period in the doldrums, it has been a good year so far for EU-Morocco relations. In February, the European Parliament approved amendments to the EU-Morocco association and fisheries agreements, addressing the dispute about the inclusion of Western Sahara in the scope of those accords. This helped […]