Tag Archives: European Union

US, EU Look to Boost Economies with Trade Pact

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After years of trade disputes, US and European Union officials are considering a drastic change in direction: a US-EU trade pact. It would be the world’s largest trade agreement, and could give a significant boost to both struggling economies.

Negotiations are still in the preliminary stages, and both sides will have much to overcome — including differences on agriculture, food safety, and climate change legislation — but top EU and US officials insist they want to see the pact happen. Even America’s main labor group, the AFL-CIO, which usually opposes such trade pacts, said it wouldn’t interfere with this one. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also appears to be in support of the trade agreement:

If we get this right, an agreement that opens markets and liberalizes trade would shore up our global competitiveness for the next century, creating jobs and generating hundreds of billions of dollars for our economies.

Labor unions in the States have tried to discourage huge trade agreements ever since the politically fraught debate over the passing of NAFTA in 1991, arguing that starkly lower wages and lax environmental regulations in certain countries would place American workers at a competitive disadvantage. Those issues don’t seem as pressing in deals with the EU.

Big business in the US appears to give similar support.

However, negotiators do not have an easy path ahead. The most recent dispute concerns EU’s carbon trading scheme, which could penalize American airlines that don’t meet EU standards. Intellectual property laws and food safety regulations also differ broadly across the Atlantic, as do agricultural restrictions on the use of genetically modified foods in Europe.

Enthusiasm seems to be the most common factor across these economies right now. Where do you think these negotiations will lead?

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Who Are the Biggest Trade Complainers?

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The Economist received published an article with statistics about which country files the most complaints to the World Trade Organization(WTO)…and who receives the most trade complaints. Here’s what they found.

The United States and the European Community(a.k.a. European Union) are number one and number two for both filing the most complaints and receiving the most complaints. Rounding out the top five for the World Trade Organization members, who file the most compliants are:

5. Mexico

4. Brazil

3. Canada

2. European Community

1. United States

Thoses members, who are subject to the most trade complaints are:

5. Argentina

4. China

3. India

2. European Community

1. United States

Many of these disputes vary such as export curbs to the latest import ban of seal products from Canada. According to the article, more of the wealther nations tend to file complaints to the WTO dispute settlement body compared to other members.

To view the full lists, click here.

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India and the EU Hopeful For Free Trade Agreement in the Coming Year

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World Trade magazine reports that India and the European Union have re-ignited discussions to create a free trade agreement between the two parties. Discussions originially began in 2007, but was slowed because of differences on intellectual property rights and fusing trading best practices with climate change.

“Despite the economic slowdown, I am happy to note that trade in goods and services between India and EU has doubled over the past five years to reach almost 80 billion euros,” Singh told reporters after the meeting.

India is the European Union’s biggest trading partners, with a rise of over 29 percent within the last five years.  Plans are underway to complete the agreement within the next year.

To read the full article, click here.

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Germany is Heading Out of the Recession

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Germany has seen positive economic growth as exports has increased and the government’s stimulus package encouraged corporate spending. Exports and investment in construction and equipment has been the main drivers of its economics growth for Q3.

“The bad times are over but the good times have not started yet,” said Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING in Brussels. “The export-driven recovery is all well and good but in order to shift into a higher gear, the German economy needs domestic demand.”

Some fear a possible export slow down may happen as the Euro continues to gain strength. Competition is stronger than ever as exchange rates are more important and global exports is still recovering from the recession.  But, many others are still optimistic.

“Orders and sentiment indicators suggest that the economy will continue to develop favorably in the months ahead,” said Alexander Koch, chief German economist at UniCredit in Munich. “Growth will slow somewhat, but the recovery remains solid.”

Wanna keep reading? Click here.

*all information used in this blog was from a Bloomberg article.

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U.K. Sees Exports Rise and Recession Ending

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U.K. Trade Minister claims trade is almost back to normal as exports are increasing, says the Wall Street Journal. The Office for National Statistics stated that the trade deficit widened to an eight-month high in September as a 3.9% rise in exports.

“Trade is gradually getting back to normal. The statistics from the U.K. reflect that,” Marvyn Davies, U.K. Trade Minister said. “More and more companies are exporting their way out of recession.”

The primary goal for the government is to supply the country’s nearly five million smaller businesses with the ability to compete in exports markets. He states that the U.K. has some of the world’s leading large exporters, but lacks the large spread of mid-sized exporters that a country like Germany has. To do this, Davies plans to look into expanding the role of the state-owned credit agency and to turn to other countries to learn how it manages its small to mid-sized exporters.

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Learn more about Management Dynamics’ Export On-Demand

To find out more information on the article, click here.

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New European Trade Measure Not Caused by Protectionism

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The New York Times reports that European exporters has been confronted with more than 223 new and restrictive trade measures since the beginning of the trade crisis last year, but has avoided protectionism. A new report out last Friday introduces the new trade measures issues by EU Commission and its trading partners.

“Proliferation of the kind of beggar-thy-neighbor protectionist policies of the 1930s has been prevented,” adds the document, which was reviewed by the International Herald Tribune. “The current multilaterally based world trade system seems to have passed one of the most serious stress tests in its entire history.”

The report concludes that the 18 percent decrease in trade since 2008 is due to financial crisis rather than protectionism.

Wanna keep up-to-date with all the latest trade measures?

 Then, register for a FREE Management Dynamics’ GTM Newsletter that summerizes global trade content on a weekly basis.

To register: http://www.managementdynamics.com/gtm/

To read the full article, click here.

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“European and North American Politicians Are Plotting the Biggest Trade Deal of the 21st Century”

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According to CNN, EU and Canadian officials sat down in Prague to begin discussions on a new Free Trade Agreement.  Let’s just say, discussions went well because if the other NAFTA countries sign in, this could be the ‘biggest trade deal of the 21st century.’ NAFTA-EU trade would contain nearly 1 billion people and account for $35.2 trillion in annual GDP, more than half the world’s trade.

“The largest benefits will come from economic integration,” says Jayson Myers, president of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), the country’s largest trade and industry association. By that he means increased foreign direct investment, improved labor mobility and full access to government procurement.

But, will this new proposed trade agreement see the light of day? That may be up to the U.S. Canada is more dependent on exports than the U.S., and with the new ‘Buy-American’ campaign from the Obama Adminstration, this could be a hard sell.

“The ball is in the Obama administration’s court,” says Steven Schrage, a specialist in international business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. “If they want this to happen, they can move rapidly.”

To continue reading, click here.

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South Korea and the European Union Sign Trade Agreement

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According the Industry Week, a free trade agreement was signed on Oct. 15 in Brussels. This is the first between the world’s largest single trading region and an Asian nation. Both parties will phase out tariffs on 96 percent of EU goods and 99 percent of S. Korea goods within three years.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said exports of Korean cars, ships and home appliances would get a boost although agriculture would suffer. “The EU is the most attractive market for us, which brings us the largest trade surplus,” the ministry said.

This is very good news for South Koreans. The new agreement will raise the standard of living, enable more consumer product choices and cut living costs.

To continue reading, click here.

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China – Leader in Global Trade

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Anyone surprised by this new report? According to the New York Times, the recession has made companies more conservative on price. So now, these companies are looking to Chinese suppliers, who have reduced prices, making it possible to grab the majority of the market share. Companies around the world are switching to China to cut costs and save money, making it easier for Chinese suppliers to gain leads in old markets and obtain new ones. China has surpassed Germany on exports this year and has become America’s number one importer (formerly Canada).  

How can China make such a leap into the global trade leader? According the New York Times, Chinese manufacturers cut wages, reduce production costs and hire migrant workers.

“China has a huge advantage,” says Nicholas R. Lardy, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “They can adjust to market changes very rapidly. They have flexibility in their labor markets. And as consumers trade down the quality ladder, China can benefit.”

Recently, the European Commission is requesting an investigation into antidumping from Chinese exports and the International Montary Fund wants China to re-balance its economy by raising the value of its currency to match those of the Euro or the U.S. dollar.

Will China continue to hold the number one position in export?

“China is going to get stronger,” Mr. Tao at Credit Suisse says. “Its competitors are getting weaker in the downturn. And the Chinese state has helped bail out some industries, like the auto industry; so in the future some new industries may emerge as exporters.”

To read the full article, click here.

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Green Light Given for Global Trade Green Pact

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The European Union and the United States are in talks on forging a pact with OECD countries and China, if agreed, a global pact will be created to phase out import tariffs on goods such as wind turbines, renewables and green technologies.

“The talks are entering an advanced stage. Brussels and Washington hope this could be one of the incentives needed to get China on board in the lead up to the Copenhagen climate change talks,” one EU diplomat.

Several U.S. companies are urging the Obama adminstration to find alternatives routes to help boost global trade in environmental goods and services.

It’s a chance to jump-start U.S. trade policy and aid global climate negotiations at the same time,” said Jake Colvin, vice president for global trade policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, a U.S. business group.

Not only to boost global trade, but helping  the environment is one of the major factors intented for this tax pact.  The United States and the European Union has put a lot of pressure on China to lower it’s emissions, but in return China wants money to help harness new greener technologies for its economy.

Further discussions will take place at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.

For more information, click here.

*all information sourced from a recent Reuter article.

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