Weekend Hits
Things you might find interesting, but I haven’t had the time or inclination to blog about:
- Regular readers know that corruption is one of my pet peeves. There’s an ill wind in the wind energy business. Check out the New York Times coverage of corruption that stems from competition for European Union subsidies to alternative energy.
- China is tinkering with its customs duties again, issuing a rather confusing announcement Tuesday. Duties on most petroleum products will be going up in 2010, but tariffs on coal, naptha and phosphates will be coming down. The oil product tariffs had been lowered a couple of years ago to cope with supply problems, and raising them will presumably return them to their bound rates under China’s WTO commitments. It appears that new refineries in China have eased supply concerns. One assumes that demand for coal, naptha and phosphates has increased.
- Just a month ago, I was celebrating the impending end of the banana war, the longest running trade dispute in history. It has finally happened, and just in time for Christmas. The European Union, the United States and a whole bunch of Latin American, Caribbean and African nations initialed an agreement Tuesday that reduces Europe’s protective duties on bananas. No, Europe wasn’t protecting its own banana producers. This was a vestige of the colonial era under which Europe sought to protect markets for banana producers in former British and French colonies. Those that didn’t have the right colonial masters got left out, and the banana war has been fought ever since. Under the new agreement, EU duties will gradually be equalized and the former British and French colonies will get some extra aid in compensation.
- The International Herald Tribune carried an interesting article Tuesday about the Uruguayan beef industry. Uruguayan beef has lingered in the shadows of its Argentine neighbor, but I can tell you – from eating plenty of it in Montevideo – that this is good stuff. Now, the Argentines have slipped up and Uruguay’s beef is challenging it in world markets. Argentine beef is often touted in high-end restaurants around the world, but its success has driven prices ever higher – including in Argentina, where beef prices became a political issue. The Argentine government put a temporary ban on exports of beef in 2006 to bring down domestic prices, and later put in price controls on the more popular cuts. Drought and demand for more soybean acreage reduced Argentine beef output. Official programs to speed up cattle fattening led Argentine producers to feed their herds grain, leaving the field open for other producers to take the premium grass-fed beef market. The Uruguayans have stepped up with a marketing campaign that features grass-fed, hormone-free beef together with images of Punta del Este’s beaches, romantic gauchos, and the aroma of Uruguayan wines. Soon, in a store or restaurant near you.
- The roulette wheels have taken their first spin in Singapore. The Lion City’s first casino opened today out on Sentosa Island. Another, downtown, is nearing its opening, and I continue to be astounded. Of course, straight-laced Singapore doesn’t call them casinos. The preferred acronym is Integrated Resort (IR). Whatever they are, a lot of money has been spent (north of $10 billion) and now we’ll see if the gamble pays off.
- I applaud the U.S. House of Representatives – an extraordinary event. House Democrats reversed their normal protectionist tendencies to extend (though for one year only) the 35-year-old Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act, both of which use trade to encourage economic development through much of the world. To hear Democrats argue that these duty-free imports from developing countries can help preserve American jobs was music to my ears. How come they don’t sing this song on other trade legislation? And can the U.S. Senate pick up the tune?
I may miss a few posts during the holidays, though I will have some in the pipeline. My wife, our son and I fly to Ohio tomorrow to spend Christmas with our daughter, and then we plan to be in Colorado snow for New Year’s. I’ll have my laptop and will post if I feel an irresistible urge – or if I’m trapped by the snow.
