Posts tagged…Tariffs
Good idea or insidious threat?
Tue, Dec 08 2009When an economy has trade leverage, the threat of discriminatory duties need not be simple protectionism.
"The US can help China make the necessary adjustments toward a reduction in imbalances by adopting a uniform tariff of 10 per cent on all Chinese imports, based on their values when they enter the US. Six months after the establishment of this tariff, the rate would increase by one percentage…
Read more…What explains tariff levels?
Fri, Dec 04 2009It's not economic policy (or even necessity) as much as the political economy that drives trade policies.
"The relationship between the overall tariff policy (considering all product groups together) and the socio-economic variables is even more diffuse, and no strong relationship emerges between tariff policy clusters and the socio-economic context. Consequently, we can conclude that trade…
China worries about U.S. carbon tariffs
Wed, Apr 22 2009In a speech in the U.S. yesterday, Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) hit out at plans for carbon tariffs in the Democrats' bill for emission controls
"A top adviser to the Chinese government on Tuesday warned that a proposed US border tax on carbon sensitive materials ‘smells of protectionism’ and could spark retaliation from developing…
G20 communiqué an improvement
Fri, Apr 03 2009If you read the undertakings on trade and protectionism—with only a moderately skeptical eye—as a firm undertaking, it is not as "wooly" as the critics claim. On the contrary, it is a substantial improvement on other recent efforts and streets ahead of the wobbly paragraph 13 of their November 2008 communiqué.
The underlined phrases (my emphasis) are the significant parts. They make the…
A tangle of carbon taxes
Thu, Mar 19 2009A big storm on the horizon… get ready for it
Border tax adjustments ('carbon tariffs') are inevitable once mandatory carbon taxes or emission caps with market value are applied to production. Now, the Obama administration acknowledges that:
"Mr. Chu, speaking before a House science panel, said establishing a carbon tariff would help 'level the playing field' if other countries haven't imposed…
Asean-Australia-NZ Free Trade Agreement
Fri, Mar 13 2009ASEAN accounts for just under 20 percent of Australia's trade ($81bn in 20087-8), so the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) that has now been submitted to parliaments for ratification is potentially a big deal.
How big it is difficult to say from a quick review. This is an extensive agreement with a lot of details that will take careful evaluation. It is apparently the…
Finding data on WTO Agriculture agreements
Mon, Mar 09 2009The WTO's framework of trade agreements for agricultural policies is complex. The WTO Agreement on Agriculture (supplemented by rules in the GATT, the Subsidies Agreement and the SPS Agreement) regulates the external impacts of countries' border barriers and the impact of their internal market manipulation policies on external competition. It's impossible to make useful assessments of the…
Mandarin or doublespeak?
Tue, Dec 23 2008
OK. Here's a little Christmas Quiz. Not hard, I promise
First, read this inspiring quote from our Great Helmsman as he rouses the unions with some hearty advice and a lovely big cheque for $180m of your money. He's giving the money to them because… well, it's a Great Australian Tradition to give big chunks of money to the motor vehicle industry when they ask for it and, after all, it's only a tiny…
Automobile tariff cut irrelevant
Tue, Sep 16 2008
Why it's impossible to get too excited about the planned cut in automobile tariffs from 10% to 5% in 2010. Despite the howls of capital and the unions, the volatility of the Australian exchange rate makes a 5% margin irrelevant. Already in 2008 the trade-weighted index has fallen more than 7 percent. Click the thumbnail for a larger image.
Weaning and whining
Sat, Aug 16 2008
I know one story about an import-competing, near-basket-case, industry that turned-around with the help of government support and a re-structuring plan, to become globally competitive and an export success story.
It's not motor vehicles.
Once upon a time —in the mid-1990s—I was the CEO of the Australian Dairy Industry Council. Farmers and the processing companies they own (Murray Goulburn…
Australian food trade barriers revealed
Wed, Aug 13 2008The World Bank's World Trade Indicators (WTI) are a relatively new, but very powerful, way of describing global trade policies and regulations. Their simplified metrics help to reveal the 'big picture' that emerges from a blizzard of trade and tariff data collected by the UN and WTO. Their method is theoretically sound but—as always—has limits and perspectives that need some interpretive…
Insiders advise against car subsidies
Thu, Jul 31 2008Fighting over the remaining ten-percent tariff is pointless in the current—and medium-term—market conditions. The strong exchange rate, the strength of our terms-of-trade vis-a-vis manufactures and the remarkable competitiveness of China makes an import tax of five or even ten percent utterly irrelevant.
The real economic debate is over the size of the proposed subsidies to capital that the Labour…