NewsTrust - Trade - Most Recent Stories: News (Mainstream)

Lawmaker warns USTR on labor in Trans-Pacific pact

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Yahoo! News - Dec. 15 (News Report) - A Republican lawmaker on Wednesday warned the Obama administration that Congress could reject a proposed Asia-Pacific trade deal if the White House pushes too hard on language to protect workers rights.

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Leaders: Free Trade In Asia-Pacific Vital To Recovery

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - Nov. 13 (News Analysis) - The plan to forge a Pacific free trade area got a big boost Sunday when leaders of Canada and Mexico joined Japan in expressing support for a deal that has received a cool reception from rising power China.

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Pelosi and Reid at odds with Obama over trade

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Hill - By Vicki Needham - Sep. 26 (News Analysis) - "I think if you asked people in Nevada: Boy, hasn't NAFTA helped us a lot, they would just sneer and walk away," he said in his floor speech. "We keep talking about free-trade agreements, but where is the fair part of those trade agreements?

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In Africa, U.S. Watches China's Rise

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Peter Wonacott - Sep. 02 (News Report) - China is expanding its economic and political ties with countries across Africa, resulting in a rapid rise in influence here that has sparked concern from the U.S. government

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China currency bill could delay passage of free trade deals

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Hill - By Vicki Needham - Aug. 23 (News Analysis) - The contentious and potentially explosive issue of China's currency could slide into the spotlight again next month as lawmakers begin what is expected to be a difficult trade debate in Congress.

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UK sails ahead in offshore wind power

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Fiona Harvey - Jul. 27 (News) - The UK has sailed ahead in offshore wind power generation in the past six months, building more offshore windfarms than any other country in the world, and accounting for almost all of the turbines erected in European waters this year.

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W.T.O. Says Chinese Restrictions on Raw Materials Break Rules

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Stephen Castle - Jul. 06 (News) - The World Trade Organization said Tuesday that Beijing violated global rules by restricting exports of nine raw materials used in high-technology products.

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China promises EU "helping hand" with debt crisis

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - By James Pomfret, Stephen Brown - Jun. 28 (News) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered Europe a "helping hand" with its debt crisis during a visit to Germany on Tuesday and said his country could buy the sovereign debt of some troubled euro zone nations if needed.

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Chinese manufacturers: The end of cheap goods?

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Jun. 12 (News Analysis) - “It is the end of cheap goods,” says Bruce Rockowitz. He is the chief executive of Li & Fung, a company that sources more clothes and common household products from Asia than perhaps any other. In the low-tech areas in which Li & Fung specialises, the firm handles an estimated 4% of China’s exports to America and a sizeable chunk of its exports to Europe, too. It has operations in several East Asian countries, where it diligently searches for cheap, reliable suppliers of everything from handbags to bar stools. So when Mr Rockowitz says the era of low-cost Asian production is drawing to a close, people listen. He argues that Asian manufacturing has gone through a number of phases, each lasting about 30 years. When China was isolated under Mao Zedong, companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea grew expert at making things. When China reopened in the late 1970s, after Mao’s death, these experienced Asian operators converged on southern China. With almost free access to land and labour, plus an efficient port and logistics hub in nearby Hong Kong, they started to make things ever more cheaply and sell them to the whole world. For the next 30 years manufacturers in China helped to keep global inflation in check. But that era is now over, says Mr Rockowitz. Chinese wages are rising fast. A wave of new demand, especially from China itself, is feeding a surge in commodity prices. Manufacturers can find some relief by moving production to new areas, such as western China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and Indonesia. But none of these new places will curb inflation the way southern China once did, he predicts. All rely on the same increasingly expensive pool of commodities. Many have rising wages or poor logistics. None can provide the scale and efficiency that was created when manufacturers converged on southern China.

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G-8 Finds $40 Billion for Arab Spring From Development Banks, Direct Aid

Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Bloomberg - By Gregory Viscusi, Tony Czuczka - May. 27 (News) - Group of Eight leaders pledged to support pro-democracy movements in North Africa, announcing a mix of loans from international development banks and direct aid totaling at least $40 billion.

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What Does Widening U.S. Income Gap Mean for Future of Economy, Americans?

Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

NewsHour - May. 06 (News Analysis) - The jobs numbers for April were released on the same day, today, as a new report that finds executive pay is soaring once again.Jeffrey Brown picks up that part of the story.JEFFREY BROWN: The Associated Press, which released the study on CEO compensation, put it this way: In the boardroom, it's as if the great recession never happened.CEO pay, including salaries, bonuses, and stock options, was up 24 percent last year, to a level higher than 2007, just before the recession hit. The 10 highest-paid executives made a combined $440 million. Six of them came from the world of media and entertainment, including the heads of Viacom and CBS.The study came a day after the Fortune 500 list was released, showing corporate profits increased by 81 percent last year, or more than $300 billion.

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Ikea: Workers' complaints surround Ikea's U.S. factory

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Nathaniel Popper - Apr. 10 (News Report) - A union-organizing battle hangs over the Ikea plant in Virginia. Workers complain of eliminated raises, a frenzied pace, mandatory overtime and racial discrimination.

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Oil prices retreat after spike on Mideast turmoil

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

CNN - By Ben Rooney - Feb. 28 (Investigative Report) - Oil prices eased Monday, retreating from recent highs, as investors continue to monitor the political movement in North African and the Middle East. The benchmark U.S. oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, for April delivery was down 2 cents to $97.86 a barrel. Brent crude, the main European contract, was up 28 cents to $112.42 a barrel. The oil market remains focused on the Middle East and North Africa, where popular uprisings have pushed out longstanding leaders in Egypt and Tunisia. In Libya, where protests against the rule of Moammar Gadhafi have entered a second week, the death toll has reached 1,000, based on an estimate from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. U.S. oil prices surged above $100 a barrel last week, while prices in Europe hit a high of $120 a barrel -- levels not seen since 2008. The spike occurred as the unrest in Libya curbed production in the North African country, and investors worried that other oil-exporting nations could follow suit.

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China plans Colombian rail link to challenge Panama canal

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Rory Carroll, Tania Branigan - Feb. 15 (Not sure) - A link between Cartagena in the Caribbean to an unspecified site on the country's Pacific coast would facilitate Chinese imports It is a dream that bewitched Spain, ruined Scotland, stumped France and empowered the US: a path from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. The ambition unleashed ruinous follies in Panama's jungles until the US finally finished a canal in 1914, an engineering feat that transformed global trade. Now, almost a century later, China is envisaging a new link between the seas: a rail link through Colombia – a potential rival to the canal that would crown China's economic push into Latin America. Beijing on Monday confirmed an announcement by the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, that both governments are considering a rail connection from Cartagena, in the Caribbean, to the country's Pacific coast 280 miles (450km) away. The president's office refused to say which Pacific site was being considered. The railway would facilitate the export of raw materials ...

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'Quintessentially American' meal to be served at state dinner

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Kim Geiger - Jan. 20 (News) - Guests at the White House state dinner honoring China's president Wednesday night will be served a "quintessentially American" meal, capped with none other than apple pie.

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A plan for new U.S. jobs, from China

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By John Pomfret - Jan. 19 (News) - It's for that reason - jobs, jobs, jobs - that Chinese President Hu Jintao will highlight Wanxiang's U.S. operations on Friday during an event in Chicago. Hu is hoping to show Americans that in addition to providing them with cheap goods, Chinese companies can also give them good jobs.

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Christina Green, 9-year-old victim of Tucson shooting, to be buried today

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - Jan. 14 (News) - The U.S. flag that flew atop the World Trade Center will be displayed at the funeral for Christina Taylor Green, who was born on Sept. 11, 2001. She will be the first of the Tucson shooting victims to be buried.Less than a week after the deadly mass shooting that left six dead and 13 injured, Tucson began to bury the dead on Thursday.

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In China, Illegal Rare Earth Mines Face Crackdown

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Keith Bradsher - Dec. 30 (News) - Rogue operations in southern China produce an estimated half of the world’s supply of heavy rare earths, which are the most valuable kinds of rare earth metals. Heavy rare earths are increasingly vital to the global manufacture of a range of high-technology products — including iPhones, BlackBerrys, flat-panel televisions, lasers, hybrid cars and wind-power turbines, as well as a lot of military hardware.

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WikiLeaks cables: India revelations spark political row

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Jason Burke - Dec. 18 (News) - Parties trade accusations over cables about Hindu extremism and Kashmir torture A vicious political row has erupted in India after the publication today of leaked American diplomatic cables about Hindu extremism and human rights abuses. The most explosive revelation has proved to be a cable reporting that Rahul Gandhi – the 40-year-old politician widely predicted to be India's next prime minister – told the US ambassador at a lunch last year that radical Hindu groups in India could pose a bigger threat to the country than Pakistan-based Islamic militants . After a series of terrorist attacks by extremists from both religious communities over recent years, and a history of inter-faith violence, such views are deeply controversial. Both the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and the ruling Congress party regularly accuse one another of playing on communal divisions for political aims. Spokesmen for the BJP said Rahul Gandhi, who leads the youth wing of the ...

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China Clones, Sells Russian Fighter Jets

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Jeremy Page - Dec. 05 (News Analysis) - A year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a cash-strapped Kremlin began selling China a chunk of its vast military arsenal, including the pride of the Russian air force, the Sukhoi-27 fighter jet.Today, Russia's military bonanza is over, and China's is just beginning.

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Nations That Debate Coal Use Export It to Feed China's Need

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Elisabeth Rosenthal - Nov. 22 (News) - The United States now ships coal to China via Canada, but coal companies are scouting for new loading ports in Washington State. New mines are being planned for the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Indeed, some of the world’s more environmentally progressive regions are nascent epicenters of the new coal export trade, creating political tensions between business and environmental goals.

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G-20 Meeting Puts Off Hard Calls on Trade Imbalances

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Sewell Chan, Sheryl Gay Stolberg - Nov. 12 (News) - Leaders of the world’s biggest economies agreed on Friday to curb “persistently large imbalances” in saving and spending but deferred until next year tough decisions on how to identify and fix them.

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Fed Global Backlash Grows

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Jonathan Weisman - Nov. 08 (News Report) - Global controversy mounted over the Federal Reserve's decision to pump billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, with President Barack Obama defending the move as China, Russia and the euro zone added to a chorus of criticism.

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High-tech jobs next phase of outsourcing?

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - By Emily Wax - Nov. 07 (Special Report) - In the latest phase of globalization, some economists say, Silicon Valley is in danger of losing a sizable piece of its knowledge-based industry to India in much the same way Detroit lost its lead to Japan in the automotive industry.

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Harry Potter fans threaten India's owls

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - Nov. 04 (News) - Die-hard fans of the best-selling Harry Potter stories are seriously threatening India's owl population, as demands for the ultimate wizarding accessory increase, a group says.

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