Argentina’s Congress has just approved a bundle of agreements that set the terms of a “strategic integral alliance” with China. As MercoPress reports, the two countries will be cooperating on infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, mining, technology, and agricultural...
Need to be Nimble: China’s Economy in the Year of Goat
The Year of the Goat (or, by some interpretations, the Year of the Sheep) challenges China’s economy to sustain a steady climb over some rough terrain, at a slower but not too-slow rate (it’s now forecast at 6.8% by the International Monetary Fund). And, all the...
US Poultry Banned in China
China has banned all imports of US poultry and eggs following outbreaks of avian influenza in the Pacific Northwest, reports Reuters. The ban is effective January 8; any poultry shipped after that date is to be returned or destroyed. Other countries have restricted...
SolarWorld Moves to Close Loophole in Anti-Dumping Orders
SolarWorld has petitioned the US International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce to close a loophole in year-old trade remedies – through which, it claims, Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers are dumping under-priced solar panels on the US market. It was...
Peruvian Economy Disappoints
Is this the curse of commodities export dependence at work? Peru's gross domestic product expanded 5.0% in May, lower than the expected 5.5 to 6.0% growth, the government announced last week. Barely two weeks earlier, President Ollanta Humala was remarking on Peru’s...
Asian Oenophile
Singapore-bound Wine Advocate embraces an Asian market that has come of age The Wall Street Journal reports that wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. will be ending the print version of his newsletter, the Wine Advocate and stepping down as editor-in-chief. Stepping up to...
Trade Beat Goes On …
Moves and countermoves by China, US; end of a trade war; start of an FTA In a few crowded weeks, there have been new developments in several of the stories we’ve covered here: Start with China Digging into US Green Subsidies. In July, we wondered whether China’s...
Chinese Tire Tariffs Run Down
Data shows trade diverted from China to suppliers in Korea, Thailand, India Get ready for revved up debate on US tariffs on Chinese tires, set to expire September 26. As we’ve noted before, the US tariffs imposed in 2009 signaled a course change in US trade policy and...
China Digs into US Green Subsidies
Is China’s polysilicon investigation just a retaliatory move – or does it open a new issue? China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) last week announced the launch of antidumping and countervailing investigations into solar-grade polysilicon imports from the US. China...
US, China Trade Tit for Tat
US files WTO complaint against Chinese tariffs on American-made automobiles The Obama Administration has challenged China’s antidumping and countervailing duties on cars manufactured in the US with a request for “dispute settlement consultations” at the World Trade...