. . . is the topic of my latest Trade Tripper column in this Friday-Saturday issue of BusinessWorld. Excerpts:
"That’s why the WTO’s 2009 World Trade Report is getting much discussion among trade law practitioners. Because ironically, according to the report, considering the increase of anti-dumping cases, dumping apparently is good for the importing country:
'What are the effects of dumping on the economic welfare of the importing country? Economic theory suggests that, with the possible exception of predatory dumping, all other instances of dumping either increase, or at worst, have an ambiguous effect on, the economic welfare of the importing country. Of course, for the most part, economic literature has treated dumping as an example of the exercise of market power. But within this context of imperfectly competitive markets, dumping may increase efficiency in resource allocation. In most circumstances, the welfare of the importing country increases as a result of dumping, as consumers and users of the product benefit from lower import prices, even though the reason for the reduction in price (the dumping) may vary.'"
30.7.09
23.7.09
No, it's not okay
. . . (that we lower our standards) is the topic of my latest Trade Tripper column in this Friday-Saturday issue of BusinessWorld. Excerpts:
"No. It’s not okay. We don’t want to be Fiddle and Faddle’s friends, we don’t want a lesson on the correct way to pronounce gyro’s, we don’t want the free coffee from next door, and we certainly don’t want any more vapid smiles. We just want our lunch, served, properly, cleanly, and correctly. This is not nuclear science.
We had a good lunch at the nearby Tsoko.Nut Batirol instead. The waiting staff was quietly efficient, informed, and (thankfully) reserved.
Somebody in a local magazine wrote a few weeks back that not only waiters but also customers should do their part in having a good dining experience. True. But people who get paid to do something (with the customer’s hard-earned money) better make sure they’re doing their jobs first. Nobody deserves something for nothing. Customers (and everybody else for that matter) should do their part by not letting standards slip. And — incidentally — that is why nobody should boorishly go to restaurants or any public place in shorts or sandos just because one has money to spend. Far richer people in far more sophisticated countries than ours still discipline themselves by being courteous in dress and manner.
This lowering of expectations is what’s destroying this country. If anybody wants to know one reason why the Philippines is going down, one just has to look at the smiling work of the friendly Fiddle and Faddle."
"No. It’s not okay. We don’t want to be Fiddle and Faddle’s friends, we don’t want a lesson on the correct way to pronounce gyro’s, we don’t want the free coffee from next door, and we certainly don’t want any more vapid smiles. We just want our lunch, served, properly, cleanly, and correctly. This is not nuclear science.
We had a good lunch at the nearby Tsoko.Nut Batirol instead. The waiting staff was quietly efficient, informed, and (thankfully) reserved.
Somebody in a local magazine wrote a few weeks back that not only waiters but also customers should do their part in having a good dining experience. True. But people who get paid to do something (with the customer’s hard-earned money) better make sure they’re doing their jobs first. Nobody deserves something for nothing. Customers (and everybody else for that matter) should do their part by not letting standards slip. And — incidentally — that is why nobody should boorishly go to restaurants or any public place in shorts or sandos just because one has money to spend. Far richer people in far more sophisticated countries than ours still discipline themselves by being courteous in dress and manner.
This lowering of expectations is what’s destroying this country. If anybody wants to know one reason why the Philippines is going down, one just has to look at the smiling work of the friendly Fiddle and Faddle."
16.7.09
Trade in the NY Times
The New York Times gets trade conscious, with these two articles: one on Doha and the other on farm subsidies.
Shuffling amidst the slog
. . . that is the global economy is the topic of my latest Trade Tripper column in this Friday-Saturday issue of BusinessWorld. Excerpts:
"Having said that, protectionism, particularly of the 'creeping' kind, seems to be keeping a steady presence. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy recently declared that there seems to be "further slippage" as far as protectionism is concerned. The WTO indeed found that in the period March to mid-June of this year, 119 new trade measures were instituted, of which 83 were classified as trade restricting. These figures do not yet include measures implemented in response or related to the H1N1 outbreak.
However, of the most recent kinds of protectionist measures, the one with the most profound effect on global attitude toward trade seem to be the 'buy local' provisions, particularly that enacted by the US. The US law provides that no funds appropriated under the law shall be used for a project for the construction or repair of a public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the US."
"Having said that, protectionism, particularly of the 'creeping' kind, seems to be keeping a steady presence. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy recently declared that there seems to be "further slippage" as far as protectionism is concerned. The WTO indeed found that in the period March to mid-June of this year, 119 new trade measures were instituted, of which 83 were classified as trade restricting. These figures do not yet include measures implemented in response or related to the H1N1 outbreak.
However, of the most recent kinds of protectionist measures, the one with the most profound effect on global attitude toward trade seem to be the 'buy local' provisions, particularly that enacted by the US. The US law provides that no funds appropriated under the law shall be used for a project for the construction or repair of a public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the US."
14.7.09
WTO, IP, and Caritas in Veritate
Interestingly, at the WIPO Conference on Intellectual Property and Public Policy Issues on 14 July 2009, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy's statement that “the international intellectual property system cannot operate in isolation from broader public policy questions such as how to meet human needs as basic health, food and a clean environment,” closely follows Pope Benedict XVI's brilliant encyclical Caritas in Veritate, wherein it is written: "On the part of rich countries there is excessive zeal for protecting knowledge through an unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property, especially in the field of health care."
What must be noted are the different emphasis between the two "statements": one is technical, the other moral. Lamy goes on to discuss the focus on technical matters:
"The effective use of the IP system and of TRIPS flexibilities is important, but does not stand alone: IP law and policy must be harnessed with drug procurement policies, pro-competition safeguards, and regulation of drugs for safety and quality. Again, no one international agency has a monopoly on these diverse areas of expertise, and the challenge of ensuring practical access to medicines requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary effort."
The encyclical has this to say:
“Truth needs to be sought, found and expressed within the ‘economy’ of charity, but charity in its turn needs to be understood, confirmed and practiced in the light of truth. In this way, not only do we do a service to charity enlightened by truth, but we also help give credibility to truth, demonstrating its persuasive and authenticating power in the practical setting of social living. This is a matter of no small account today, in a social and cultural context which relativizes truth, often paying little heed to it and showing increasing reluctance to acknowledge its existence.” (2)
“The risk for our time is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is not matched by ethical interactions of consciences and minds that would give rise to truly human development. Only in charity, illumined by the light of reason and faith, is it possible to pursue development goals that possess a more humane and humanizing value. The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of conscience and liberties.” (9)
“The world’s wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities are on the increase. In rich countries, new sectors of society are succumbing to poverty and new forms of poverty are emerging. In poorer areas some groups enjoy a sort of ‘superdevelopment’ of a wasteful and consumerist kind which forms an unacceptable contrast with the ongoing situations of dehumanizing deprivation.” (22)
What must be noted are the different emphasis between the two "statements": one is technical, the other moral. Lamy goes on to discuss the focus on technical matters:
"The effective use of the IP system and of TRIPS flexibilities is important, but does not stand alone: IP law and policy must be harnessed with drug procurement policies, pro-competition safeguards, and regulation of drugs for safety and quality. Again, no one international agency has a monopoly on these diverse areas of expertise, and the challenge of ensuring practical access to medicines requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary effort."
The encyclical has this to say:
“Truth needs to be sought, found and expressed within the ‘economy’ of charity, but charity in its turn needs to be understood, confirmed and practiced in the light of truth. In this way, not only do we do a service to charity enlightened by truth, but we also help give credibility to truth, demonstrating its persuasive and authenticating power in the practical setting of social living. This is a matter of no small account today, in a social and cultural context which relativizes truth, often paying little heed to it and showing increasing reluctance to acknowledge its existence.” (2)
“The risk for our time is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is not matched by ethical interactions of consciences and minds that would give rise to truly human development. Only in charity, illumined by the light of reason and faith, is it possible to pursue development goals that possess a more humane and humanizing value. The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of conscience and liberties.” (9)
“The world’s wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities are on the increase. In rich countries, new sectors of society are succumbing to poverty and new forms of poverty are emerging. In poorer areas some groups enjoy a sort of ‘superdevelopment’ of a wasteful and consumerist kind which forms an unacceptable contrast with the ongoing situations of dehumanizing deprivation.” (22)
13.7.09
Caritas in Veritate
Here's an interesting piece by the New York Times' Ross Douthat on Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical:
"'Caritas in Veritate' promotes a vision of economic solidarity rooted in moral conservatism. It links the dignity of labor to the sanctity of marriage. It praises the redistribution of wealth while emphasizing the importance of decentralized governance. It connects the despoiling of the environment to the mass destruction of human embryos."
For copy of the encyclical, click here.
"'Caritas in Veritate' promotes a vision of economic solidarity rooted in moral conservatism. It links the dignity of labor to the sanctity of marriage. It praises the redistribution of wealth while emphasizing the importance of decentralized governance. It connects the despoiling of the environment to the mass destruction of human embryos."
For copy of the encyclical, click here.
11.7.09
Country tariff data
Here's a nice useful WTO page. Users can research on bound and applied tariff rates of different WTO members. For Philippine data, click here.
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