The Pew Research Center recently reported that 66 percent of Americans view China unfavorably. And the Chinese are returning the favor in spades. Meanwhile, politicians in each country continue to encourage these nationalistic feelings instead of cooling their citizens’ tempers. The die is cast to tear up 50 years of cooperation and mutually beneficial ties […]
In the early 2000s, the idea behind many policy approaches were to promote complete and open free trade. An international policy that has come upon much criticism in the wake of several alliances and trade agreements coming apart or being re-designed, the idea of trade agreements have lost some of its luster. The agreement between […]
The United States elected their latest President for many reasons, some good, some terrible, but the outcome to the rest of the world was that relations were shaken up between the United States and its partners. Mexico has been able to placate much of the conflict over the latest demands of the American president and […]
It is remarkable that large corporations do not employ many people in their organisations that have the foresight to warn their Directors that what they might be doing will not only subject them to record breaking fines by the EU, but will also cost them billions. I had time to ponder this while going through […]
It is an anachronism in today’s society that anyone in a developed country would rightly claim that there is no path to warm shelter, food and employment for most in a community. But the effect of added taxes in a policy to reduce carbon emissions is exactly what lead a father in Ontario, Canada to […]
In May of 2018, the European Union passed The General Data Protection Regulation, known as the GDPR and many companies worldwide took notice. If you were a company operating within the EU it was well known and services were made available so you could become compliant. Compliance meant that you were required to take diligent […]
Canada is the United States’ second largest trade partner after China. While issues exist, it is not a problematic partner. President Trump, however, has imposed economic sanctions on it, has threatened more sanctions, and singled it out for special condemnation in his rhetoric. A high point in the latter regard came when Peter Navarro, the […]
In the mid-1960s, during the height of the American auto industry’s success in Detroit and surrounding border states, the US and Canada developed the Auto Pact. The Auto Pact brought Canada into the thriving industrial base in the northern region of the United States and over the years integrated Canadian and American auto production under […]
Recent US Commerce Department figures showing a widening of the country’s trade deficit serve to illustrate the inherent contradictions in President Trump’s vow to narrow the gap while urging faster economic growth.
Not many may know that Ethiopia was among the first countries to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when the latter was formed on 27 December 1945. Nevertheless, it took another 72 years for Ethiopia to welcome its first visit from the IMF Managing Director, in this case, Christine Lagarde who in December 2017 visited Addis […]
The Trump administration has made it very clear that the United States is no longer interested in multilateral free trade agreements or policies. At the same time, the European Union, Japan, and China are forging ahead with multilateral deals. As the U.S. steps aside and other nations and blocs step up, the American economy will […]
Current negotiations between Canada, Mexico and the United States to revise and modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have been characterized by notable disagreements and heavy demands across parties, as well as threats from US President Donald Trump to exit the current agreement altogether. However, the energy sector – and North American energy […]
As sectors of the domestic and world economy become more dependent on the internet and the cloud, their vulnerability to new forms of attack and disruption increases. Cybersecurity is not just a national defense issue, but must also become a cost of doing business. It is clear that the shipping industry is susceptible to cyber-attacks. […]
Trump’s blunt mercantilism risks pushing Mexico and Canada into China’s arms. Indeed, both countries have expressed interest in signing a deal with Beijing.
France was recently declared the world’s top soft power for 2017, outranking both the US and the UK for the first time. How should Theresa May respond?