The Custom-House

Who was Cordell Hull?

Cordell Hull was FDR's Secretary of State for twelve years.  No one has served in that post longer.  For some people he's a figure of fun, but others remember him for at least one, very special, achievement...

Fifteen Weeks to Go

Fifteen weeks until the opening of the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Hong Kong (Dec 13)...

The Significance of the Spratlys

According to the Taipei Times:

A Chinese firm has won a joint contract from the state oil companies of China, the Philippines and Vietnam to search for oil and gas in a disputed area of the South China Sea, state-run media said yesterday... (August 28)

The Budding Sinologist, over at MeiZhongTai , explains the implications: Exploring the Spratleys .

Chinese oil insecurity

The Chinese are searching around the world for new sources of oil.  Most of its current oil imports are coming through the increasingly insecure Straits of Malacca.   Canada may be an important future source.  However, the best route for Canadian oil is through the U.S. Aleutian Islands.  The Chinese can't be thrilled about that. 

What happens if the Doha Round fails?

What happens if the Doha Round fails?   It could happen.  David Eldon, the Chairman of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, took a look into one possible future in a Financial Times column this week:  Perils of a trade round’s collapse.

US ready to deal on ag subsidies?

Is the U.S. ready to deal on agricultural production subsidies in the Doha Round?

Doha Agricultural Negotiations

The biggest gains from Doha Round agricultural negotiations are in tariff reform - an area where the U.S. doesn't have much to offer:

What's up in China and India?

Business Week has a special double issue on the two countries: China and India.  What you need to know now . 

I learned about this from the New Economist: China and India: What you need to know.

Revised August 17.

Lobbying another country's politicians

Earlier this week, Richard Lapper reported on the problems posed for a number of former British colonies in the Caribbean, as EU price-support reforms reduce the price they received for their sugar in European markets:  A bitter harvest: the Caribbean faces the prospect of a life without sugar (Financial Times, August 15).

In a second story he looked at reasons these countries (Jamaica, Guyana, Belize, Barbados, Trinidad, and Tobago) haven't been able to exert more political pressure on the UK to get some help: British business and political interest wanes (Financial Times, August 15).  After all, migrants from the Caribbean form the second largest ethnic minority in the UK:

Chinese oil demand anomalies

James Hamilton, at Econobrowser, wonders:

(1) how could Chinese oil demand have grown 17% in 2004 despite a 35% increase in the price of crude oil; (2) how could this demand growth suddenly be reduced to a 1.4% growth rate in the first half of 2005 despite real output growth continuing at 9.5%; and (3) what do these trends imply is going to happen to Chinese oil demand over the next year?

He points to subsidies built into a system of administered prices set below market clearing levels: More to the story on Chinese oil demand. 

Read his short post to learn the implications for sustained 10% growth in real output.