The leading Republican candidate may seem out of step with his party’s platform when he lambasts free trade, but in fact the GOP has promoted protectionism for most of its history.
Countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership signed the deal earlier this month, but changes can still be made to improve the mechanism that allows investors to sue states.
It’s easy to dismiss Africa as a place that is, at best, a provider of commodities, land and labour. A closer look shows that the continent is innovative and offers a lot more opportunities.
Australia looks set to continue to confront its core foreign policy dilemma: balancing relations between its largest trading partner, China, and its key security partners, the US and Japan.
Will Joe Hockey, a 19-year veteran of the Australian Parliament, be able to navigate an increasingly dysfunctional Washington as ambassador to the United States?
Some say the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership was designed specifically to exclude or even encircle China. So do its leaders mind being on the outs?
Japan’s decision to lower or eliminate tariffs on rice, pork and beef may end up giving the prime minister a headache as he tries to get the trade accord through Parliament.
The US may be closer than people think to a deal over geographical indications, laws that protect products based on their location such as Champagne, Darjeeling tea and prosciutto di Parma.
Trade policy is usually the eye-glazing preserve of policy wonks and public officials. Suddenly, however, it’s the epicentre of a debate that tells us much about the difficulties facing political parties…
China’s interventions to cheapen its currency relative to others will hurt US imports in the short term, but the country’s surging “mainstream” will easily offset the impact.
Disputes over intellectual property and car parts are emerging as last-minute hurdles as negotiators race to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership ahead of elections.
Japanese negotiators in Maui appear to be bending to American pressure to accept more US rice imports. The flood of grain, local farmers say, will end their way of life.