Category Archives: Globalization

Where Do Wal-Mart Products Come From?

We got this map from Tyler Cowen’s Marginal Revolution, which in turn cites Kottke. In case you had any doubts as to who was the leading outlet for China, Inc., now you know (although some question the methodology, based on my discussions with people who have knowledge of Wal-Mart’s buying practices, I have no doubt […]

The Practical Difficulties of Weaning America Off Foreign Capital

Brad Setser, who is normally an upbeat counterpoint to permabear Nouriel Roubini at RGE Monitor has an unusually worried post on what the end game might look like for foreign purchases of the US dollar (the central element of the oft-discussed global imbalances). We found this post courtesy Brad DeLong. Setser focuses in on a […]

WSJ vs. FT on China Trade Row

We have yet another instance of the Journal putting a happier face on the news than the Financial Times, this time on the slowly escalating US-China trade dispute. By way of background, we reported earlier on the US’s imposition of punitive duties on Chinese, Indonesian, and South Korean coated paper because these countries were determined […]

"Vulnerabilities to Global Growth"

The Financial Times today reports on an open letter from Charles Dallara, the head of the lobbying group representing the world’s largest financial institutions, to Gordon Brown, the UK chancellor and chairman of the IMF’s governing council, on the risks to growth. What is fascinating, and worrisome, is that the letter doesn’t talk about the […]

Japan’s Role in Global Imbalances

A good post by Thomas Palley on the not-sufficiently-discussed role of Japan in global economic imbalances (code for “nations with high savings funding our consumption”), which we found courtesy Economist’s View. One quibble: he talks about the carry trade as if it was strictly an international phenomenon, that is, foreigners borrowing in yen and then […]

A Bit of a Rant on Free Trade

Ah, but it’s a good rant, colorful and defensibly reasoned, by Angry Bear reader OldVet, “Taking the other side of Trade – what’s free and what’s not.” He makes a valid core observation: free trade hasn’t delivered the goods (at least for the US) that it was alleged to, and that is at least in […]

U.S. Imposes Duties on Chinese Goods

Ambrose Bierce, in The Devil’s Dictionary, defined an alliance as, “When two thieves have their hands so deeply plunged into each other’s pocket that they cannot separately plunder a third party.” We seem to be in that position with China. The problem is that we’d like to renegotiate our “alliance,” but we are trying to […]

The Dangers of Overselling, and Overdoing, Global Trade

A very good comment in Tuesday’s Financial Times, “The cheerleaders’ threat to global trade,” by Dani Rodrik, professor of international political economy at Harvard’s Kennedy School. He makes the point that globalization fans may be their own worst enemy by taking the simpleminded point of view that if globalization is good, more globalization is of […]

Links Between China’s Military and Economic Strategy

Robert Reich has an interesting post today, “Why China Announces Military Buildup the Same Week Paulson Visits,” about how China is pursuing inter-related economic and military strategies in its drive to become a superpower. Although much of what Reich says is cogent, I disagree with one point, namely, that “America’s indebtedness to China gives the […]

Hillary Bashing as Spectator Sport

For the record, I’m not a fan of the junior senator from New York. But she actually said some sensible things in a letter to Henry Paulson, which were mischaracterized by Harvard prof Greg Mankiw on his popular blog (and picked up by Angry Bear). It is remarkable how Clinton can serve as a lightening […]

Trade Dispute Over Chinese Dumping Coated Paper

A New York Times page one story, “A Cry to Limit Chinese Imports Rings at a Troubled Paper Mill,” describes how the Chinese have been gaining market share in the coated paper, by allegedly dumping (selling below cost). Several things make this case unusual: first, likelihood that the Commerce Department will impose duties on Chinese […]

Liberalizing Trade Doens’t Always Work as Planned

Here is an article, “Nafta Should Have Stopped Illegal Immigration, Right?,” by Louis Uchitelle in the New York Times, which discusses how Nafta, expected to reduce wage disparity between Mexico and the US, instead increased it. Even when you are talking about only two economies, liberalizing trade doesn’t always work out as expected. You will […]