By Alex Yeager

In a controversial move, British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a June 23 referendum on whether the nation should leave the Euro Zone.  A “Brexit,” as many are calling it, is a lightning rod issue in the nation and all over Europe.  Other European nations have been extremely bearish on the move, with the German finance minister going as far as to say that an exit would be “poison” for both the UK and the current Euro zone.  In recent weeks, pundits have raised concerns about the move ranging from currency dilution to border control.  Yet while an exit does not appear to be immediately imminent, Britain’s continued membership in the Euro Zone seems anything but certain.

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April 04, 2016

By Alex Yeager

As the final candidates on both sides of the aisle march through spring primaries, international trade has rapidly become a hot-button issue.  Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed anti-free trade sentiments, and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has been adamant about increasing protectionist measures in the U.S. economy.  The focus comes arguably at a strange time, with large proportions of Americans expressing pro-free trade sentiments and employment levels at roughly decade highs.

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April 01, 2016

By Alex Yeager

The World Trade Organization has issued a ruling concerning a dispute between the U.S. and India’s rapidly growing solar panel program.  The subsidy, which forced subsidized solar panels to use domestic parts, was struck down on Wednesday as a violation of free trade agreements.  Some maintain the ruling creates an opportunity for critics - namely environmentalists - to launch further criticism against the TPP.  Others maintain it’s actually a good thing for India, as it allows foreign competition that should benefit domestic consumers.

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March 09, 2016

By Alex Yeager

In the category of “things you can’t believe are still legal,” President Obama signed a provision on Wednesday that finally closed a trade loophole allowing the importation of goods made by child and forced labor.  The loophole, which originated from the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, allowed goods procured by these means to be imported as needed by U.S. consumer demand.  The provision allows other bans on these materials to have more binding force, and will prevent the importation of products such as fish caught by slaves in Southeast Asia, and gold mined by children in Africa.

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March 03, 2016

By Alex Yeager

After years of secret negotiations, the groundbreaking Trans-Pacific Partnership was finally signed on November 3^rd by 11 participating nations. Simply getting the deal signed was no easy task - but the hardest test is likely yet to come. Due to the US’s dual treaty system, the deal requires domestic ratification to fully put into force. While the elaborate, 11-nation negotiation process would seem to be the most difficult component of the deal, the fireworks are likely just about to start.

In response to the signing, powerful Congressional members such as Sen. Orrin Hatch and Mitch McConnell have expressed criticism towards the deal in its current form. Critics feel it fails to hold other nations accountable for unfair trade tactics, and allows large corporations to subject foreign nations to suits without proper safeguards. It is thought by many that if pushed through the House today, it would be likely to fail in front of the Republican controlled House. Yet congressional approval might not even be the TPP’s biggest hurdle.

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February 24, 2016

By Alex Yeager

The process back to normalized trade between Iran and the western world has been slow, but major companies are beginning to test the waters. Oil exporters, in particular, have begun to explore the untapped potential in the large Middle-Eastern nation. Both the United States and the European Union have lifted sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program, but many grey areas remain in determining what constitutes legal trade and commerce between the two nations.

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February 18, 2016

By Alex Yeager

The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was signed on February 4^th, but awaits congressional ratification.  Only Malaysia has ratified the pact thus far, while the other 10 countries involved still require further steps to put the treaty into force. Even if Congressional approval proves to be less challenging than expected, the deal is likely to face further hurdles. Presidential candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties have expressed opposition to the deal, which would be the largest regional free trade agreement signed by the US in history.

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February 17, 2016

By Alex Yeager

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is again drawing criticism, but not for its trade implications.  Instead, the much-maligned deal is now being criticized for the special legal rights it might grant financial institutions.  The agreement is designed to relax trade barriers between the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and eight other pacific-rim nations.  Yet the fear is that under the agreement banks may be able to systematically circumvent domestic court systems to bring special arbitral claims against foreign governments.

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November 30, 2015

By Alex Yeager

Last year, the International Trade Commission made a grab for power – over Internet signals.  While traditionally focused on screening physical goods, the body attempted to state in a case last year that it had the ability to “prevent digital material from crossing the U.S. border.”  Last week, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit limited the Commission’s power to control over “material things”, a reported victory for internet search providers such as Google, and a loss for parties that suffer from rampant pirating, such as film studios.

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November 26, 2015

By Alex Yeager

Nearly a year after President Obama’s pronouncement of a goal to normalize trade relations with Cuba, minimal progress has been made on a path towards tangible trade growth.  To be fair, some real steps have been taken; most recently, the Obama administration issued regulations in September aimed at making it easier for U.S. companies to establish subsidiaries and do business in Cuba.  And, regulations regarding U.S. travel to Cuba have also been dramatically loosened.

But overall, what are the real trade effects as of now?  Virtually none.  In fact, aggregate trade numbers have actually dropped between the two countries in the time since President Obama’s proclamation.  Officials on both sides maintain that the long-standing embargo is still severely hampering any trade progress between the nations.  Some disagreement exists as to whether this is really the biggest hurdle, but it seems fairly intuitive that a trade embargo is not conducive to free trade between neighboring nations. 

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November 16, 2015

Alex Yeager

The parties in a notorious trade law case involving a scheme to dump millions of dollars of Chinese honey into the United States have finally come to terms on a settlement.  Despite the $180 million dollar lawsuit filed, the parties just recently received permission to complete a $3 million dollar settlement between Groeb Farms Inc. and a class-action group of U.S. Honey producers.  The company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2013, was facing suit for allegedly avoiding about $80 million in anti-dumping duties as a result of an elaborate Southeast Asian “honey-laundering” ring.

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October 22, 2015

By Alex Yeager

Announced on October 5, the United States and 12 other nations came to an agreement on a “sprawling free trade agreement” entitled the “Trans-Pacific Partnership.”  The agreement principally reduces trade restrictions for exports, and also attempts to crack down on intellectual property violations in pacific-rim nations.  Despite including roughly 40% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, however, the deal is notably missing China, Asia’s largest economy.  Some see the deal as a tactic to reduce Asian-pacific dependence on the world’s second largest economy, while others see China’s economic clout as too significant for the deal to truly change the region’s trade dynamic.

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October 20, 2015

By Alex Yeager

While still a hot button political issue, the Iran Nuclear Deal looks poised to pave the way for the re-opening of trade between the nation and other large developed economies. Experts have indicated that Iran likely has the most to gain from the potential removal of sanctions by the United States and Europe. Trade between the U.S. and Iran is not expected to jump significantly, however there is speculative that deal may revive Europe’s historically large trade relationship with the Middle-Eastern nation.

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September 24, 2015

By Alex Yeager

Angry farmers in Brussels made their voices heard last Monday, pelting police officers with eggs and driving tractors through the main streets of the city. European markets have been flooded with milk and egg supplies, causing price drops so large that farmers are barely able to make back production costs. Protestors have called for the re-implementation of price stabilizers by European Union policymakers, but global trade factors such as decreasing Chinese demand and Russian sanctions have also contributed to the falling prices.

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September 22, 2015

By Alex Yeager

In a controversial move, China unexpectedly took action in early August to devalue its currency, the Yuan.  The currency’s 3% downward adjustment was its biggest devaluation in 20 years, and helped stoke global economic slowdown concerns.  Economists have speculated that the devaluation was motivated by either anticipation of a rate hike by the United States Federal Reserve, sluggish growth indicators in Chinese GDP, or a combination of these factors.  Now nations such as India and the United States are calling for Chinese accountability for its devaluation actions, pointing to the tactic’s tendency to spark trade wars and contribution to this month’s global financial correction.  Others, however, are now lauding the move as a way to bring China closer to the free-market currency ‘float’ that experts have been pressuring the nation to move towards for years.

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September 11, 2015