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At a time when adding fuel to the economy should be an imperative for any political leader, UK Prime Minister David Cameron could take an important step for economic growth by spiffing up Britain’s creaky immigration rules and also enjoy the pleasure of showing the colonials how it’s done. Based on … Beijing, intoxicated by double-digit growth even as the west slogs through hard times, seems inclined to flex its economic muscles these days. It chose to express its displeasure with Japan in a largely symbolic territorial dispute by embargoing exports of vital industrial minerals called “rare earths.” And, for a while, … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: China, embargo, fungible commodities, Japan, oil, rare earths | Category: International Trade |
 Leave a commentNice post by Harvard’s Jeff Frankel on the little-followed but surprisingly important issue of export control on food crops. The United States hasn’t tried to contain food prices by embargoing exports since Richard Nixon briefly stopped foreign sales of soybeans and set in motion the rise … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Argentina, Brazil, export controls, Jeffrey Frankel, Richard Nixon, soybeans | Category: International Trade, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentAh, the glories of sugar politics… In case you missed it, the price of sugar in the US is up 30 percent in the last year. And, responding to heavy lobbying from commercial users of sucrose – mostly commercial bakeries and candy makers — the Department of Agriculture … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: European Union, Everglades, high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, USDA | Category: International Trade |
Leave a commentYou’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again: China’s insistence on maintaining an undervalued currency costs American jobs. But look a little closer – as Simon Evenett and Joseph Francois have done – and you’ll see that the story is much more complicated. In the [READ MORE...] By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: China, employment, Joseph Francois, mercantilism, renminbi, Simon Evenett | Category: International Trade |
One commentThe Competitive Enterprise Institute goes off the rails occasionally (as in “what climate change?”…), but the organization is right on the mark on the issue of import quotas for sugar. American cane and sugar beet growers, it seems, have lost a bit of their … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Agriculture Department, Brazil, Competitive Enterprise Institute, India, Mexico, sugar quotas, Thailand | Category: International Trade, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentTheodore Moran argues that China’s rush to “lock up” natural resources in other countries (think energy) will actually increase access for the rest of the world’s access – not decrease it. We wish the Chinese understood the point, too; it would make them better citizens in the UN … By Peter Passell | Tags: energy policy, Theodore Moran | Category: International Trade, Quick Takes |
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Professor Dieter Helm (Oxford) is a very fine fly fisherman, and an even better economist. If you haven’t done so, take a look at his new book “The Carbon Crunch: How We Are Getting Climate Change Wrong — and How to Fix It” for a bit of unconventional wisdom. He argues that politicians and the general public have not shown any real interest in addressing climate change. Helm argues that places like Europe should focus on setting a price for carbon that would cover consumption (and not just production), and that fracking could be a good “bridge” technology for reducing consumption of coal. The book is readable and insightful for those interested in the inside track on climate policy. 
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