Just to illustrate the difficulties in turning rhetoric into action, here's a case of the EU officially placing anti-dumping duties on Chinese wares while world leaders were vowing to fight protectionism at the G-20. From Chinese official broadcaster CCTV:The European Union on Thursday decided to impose a five-year official anti-dumping duty on seamless steel pipes and aluminum foil from China. The tax rates are 39.2 percent and 30 percent, respectively.The Ministry of Commerce has been opposed to the new tarrifs since April, when the EU publicized its intent to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty on Chinese seamless steel pipes. The official anti-dumping fees will be implemented by October 8th.There's also an accompanying video clip. The FT claims this episode is novel as the EU imposed these duties in the absence of demonstrable damage done to European producers:The European Union on Friday imposed anti-dumping duties of nearly 40 per cent on imports of steel pipe from China....
G-20 Communique: Fine Words, Now for Action
I have gradually been warming to these G-20 summits given that the process has become more inclusive of LDCs in rhetoric. However, it remains to be seen if there is indeed a substantive change in the way global governance is handled in these meetings' aftermath as per talk of a new world order and so on and so forth.You can read the massive communique from the Pittsburgh G-20 site. Given the varying interests of the parties involved, it's unsurprising that it's something of a laundry list of wishes. These wishes, of course, need coordination in order to be fulfilled. Some passages that have struck me follow:First, the much-ballyhooed redistribution of shares in the IMF amounts to shuffling "at least 5%" around. The FT's Alan Beattie has a good backgrounder on the issues at stake here. Meanwhile, here is the relevant portion:20. We are committed to a shift in International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota share to dynamic emerging markets and developing countries of at least 5% from...
Three China Features From the Far Side
All things China are the rage nowadays. Accordingly, I have a few very interesting stories about the Middle Kingdom that I wanted to put out before turning to non-PRC stories since this place threatens to turn into the China Political Economy Zone--now there's a free idea for anyone although there are jillions of China blogs already. Today, however, we feature gambling apparatchiks, unemployed Yanks searching for PRC jobs, and the PBoC floating ideas for a supra sovereign wealth fund.First up is news about the revival of Macau as a gambling destination. After overtaking Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenues a few years back,...
Pre-G-20 Fun: US, China Exchange Trade Blows
And so we are receiving more reports that the days of China Chump Syndrome are probably numbered. What is China Chump Syndrome, you ask? Well, it's the PRC buying dollar-denominated assets at any price to help buoy a currency whose exchange rate would be a helluva lot less against the Chinese yuan in an effort to boost exports to America. It's a familiar story; a recent Bloomberg headline says "China Can't Buy Enough Bonds as Dollar No Deterrent." Ditto, says a WSJ blog. IOUs printed at an unprecedented pace, extraordinarily low yields, and a currency depreciating against several currencies not heavily intervened at the current...
Deciphering China's Climate Change Strategery
Nobody was particularly surprised when Hu Jintao, leader of the country which now holds the dubious distinction of being the world's largest carbon emitter, offered no concrete commitments while addressing the United Nations on climate change:China plans a “notable” cutback in the level of carbon dioxide its industries emit as part of international efforts to combat climate change, Hu Jintao, Chinese president, told a UN climate summit on Tuesday.Despite raised expectations ahead of the summit, Mr Hu put no specific target on the reduction – which would be based on cutting carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic...
G-20: Differing US, China Rhetoric on Imbalances
♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Bretton Woods Twins,Economic Diplomacy
at 9/22/2009 11:38:00 AM
Watch what we do, not what we say - John N. MitchellThe late John N. Mitchell, Richard Nixon's first attorney-general, said something that pretty much sums up how we should approach political pronouncements on contentious issues. Some statements are for dramatic effect to please domestic audiences; some are to appease international ones; some aim to deceive; and, of course, some actually bear some semblance to actual policy stances. Subsequently thrown in jail for his role in the Watergate scandal, few mistake Mitchell's lack of scruples for lack of ability.And so we now have pronouncements from two of the lead protagonists in the saga of global economic imbalances. Up first is the United States with its unique excuse for its massive budget deficit which goes, "we need to run massive deficits now so we can resume economic growth sooner that will help keep get our financial house under control." Their president, "China Currency Coalition" Obama, is certainly making the right...
Does Russian Appeasement Include Joining WTO?
The neoconservative set is up in arms over Barack Obama's decision to scrap a missile defense system that was to be put in place in Poland together with the Czech Republic. Emboldened by this decision, Russia Premier Vladimir Putin is asking for yet more concessions, this time on the trade front.In a recent post, I covered the many about-faces Russia has done concerning its WTO accession in recent years. Things took an interesting turn with Putin proposing that Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan put in a joint bid for WTO membership as a customs inion--something that hasn't been done before. However, Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev was apparently keener on Russia maintaining a unilateral bid and made little of the idea.We now have a potentially unique situation in which there is a substantive difference of opinion between Putin and his political protege, often derided as a puppet. For, here Putin goes again bandying a tripartite accession process for his pals in Belarus and Kazakhstan--two...
USTR Begs Brazil's Mercy on WTO Cotton Sanctions
After years and years of legal wrangling, we are finally getting to the point where the rubber meets the road. I've made a series of posts [1, 2, 3] practically spanning the existence of this blog describing how the United States' agricultural subsidies have made it (rightly) vulnerable to trade partners' complaints. Here we have case DS267. These have come in the form of export credit guarantees, marketing loans, and counter-cyclical payments (see this backgrounder if you're new to these terms). Brazil has for a while taken exception to these supports granted to US farmers, something which still bedevils the completion of...
Is Dubai's Istithmar a Dead SWF Walking?
♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Casino Capitalism,Credit Crisis
at 9/17/2009 11:06:00 AM
Bloomberg first mooted that the SWF of the famously free-spending emirate of Dubai was in deep trouble. The story of Dubai is a familiar one by now. Critics would say it's reminiscent of the Tower of Babel at home when massive skyscrapers--each new one more outlandish than the last--were put up in quick succession. However, Istithmar's problem is largely one of properties bought outside of Dubai. From a marketing point of view, I understand what they were trying to do in buying up luxury brands the world over: the SWF thought these names could be leveraged at home...when the time comes. (Flashback to fears of Japan buying...
Obama: No Better Than Bush on Climate Change?
♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Environment
at 9/16/2009 11:14:00 AM
The Guardian is running an article suggesting so. Obama has portrayed himself as both an environmentalist and an internationalist. If these were both true, nowhere would they be more evident than in his treatment of multilateral discussions on climate change. However, this report suggests otherwise as the Obama administration is put in a bad light in the run-up to the Copenhagen Summit where a successor to the Kyoto Protocol is being crafted. Not only is Washington adopting a "not invented here" attitude by presenting its own plan without much reference to Kyoto, but it is also favoring a largely unilateral, non-binding effort.So how is Obama different from Bush in this respect? It seems to me that unwillingness to go along and unilateralism are Bushian to the core:The dispute between the US and Europe is over the way national carbon reduction targets would be counted. Europe has been pushing to retain structures and systems set up under the Kyoto protocol, the existing global...
Out Now: Sarkozy, Stiglitz & Sen Well-Being Report
♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Environment,Welfare Economics
at 9/15/2009 05:52:00 PM
I've been waiting for this. About a year ago, I got wind of French President Nicolas Sarkozy commissioning Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen to lead an effort to develop alternative measures of well-being. Head over to the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress website to find the long-awaited report commissioned by French President Nicholas Sarkozy on finding better measures of well-being than GDP and GDP per capita. What follows are the key recommendations from what will surely be a widely talked-about report (I make some tentative observations after listing these recommendations):----------------------------What are the main messages and recommendations?The report distinguishes between an assessment of current well-being and an assessment of sustainability, whether this can last over time. Current well-being has to do with both economic resources, such as income, and with non-economic aspects of peoples’ life (what they do and...