Posts tagged…G20
Signs good and bad
Thu, Feb 26 2009China's Commerce Minister publishes and Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal that promises China will abide by the G20 (Washington, November 2008) undertaking on protectionism and continue to promote import consumption.
Read more…Why don’t they say what they mean?
Sun, Feb 15 2009It's often open to question whether the G7—represented by their Finance Ministers in this case—mean what they say when it comes to trade policies. But it's a real puzzle that, despite the general skepticism of which they must be aware, they continue to think that they can get away with this by never saying what they mean.
"An open system of global trade and investment is indispensable for global…
A G-20 protection standstill
Wed, Feb 04 2009When they meet in April in London, the Group of Twenty largest economies will face evidence of a big fall in global production, tumbling world trade volumes and rising unemployment around the world. No-doubt they will be asked to make a more solid pledge on protectionism than they adopted when they last met in Washington last November.
"We underscore the critical importance of rejecting…
World trade: it’s not the 1930s
Mon, Feb 02 2009Some initial reactions of governments to the prospect of a dramatic downturn in world trade and production uncannily echo events of eighty years ago. Think of the 'no-new-protection' pledge at the November meeting of the 'G-20' group of governments in Washington. There was a similar event in 1929:
"In September 1929, the League of Nations recommended that member countries agree to a "tariff…
Professors prosecute protectionism
Sat, Dec 06 2008Two of the best academic analysts of the global trade system, Simon Evenett and Richard Baldwin, have rushed out an 'e-book' entitled "What world leaders must do to halt the spread of protectionism", containing brief prescriptions by sixteen professors and an industrialist. A powerful line-up. "Free" (as in beer). Deserves your attention and reflection.
A modest proposal for the ‘G-20’ summit
Sun, Nov 09 2008
The IMF's Managing Director should not try to talk down expectations for next weekend's summit. We deserve much more from these leaders that, so far, have done little to match their promises of reform of global governance over the past decade.
The G-20's role should be to set up the best conditions for a recovery in real markets, not just in financial markets. But, on their past behavior, it is…
The G-Other
Mon, Jul 14 2008
I wonder if they're any better at meaningful collaboration than the G-8? No sign of it in this official snapshot taken in Sapporo, Japan, before their meeting with the G-8 in July, 2008.