By Victoria Hines

A discussion paper released by the Centre for Economic Performance suggests that “immigrants promote exports of final services, both overall and particularly to their countries of origin.” Moreover, the effects appear to be even stronger when trading partners share cultural and institutional similarities. A potential explanation for this finding is that immigrants reduce exporting or importing costs of services by helping their home country overcome cultural and institutional barriers with foreign markets. Not only are trade costs reduced, but immigrants can also increase productivity by contributing their specialization and creativity.

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December 08, 2015

By Anthony Zurcher

In response to Turkey shooting down a Russian jet last week, President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree putting into effect a set of harsh economic sanctions. In addition to covering imports from Turkey and limiting Turkish companies/nationals located in Russia, the sanctions also will end charter flights between the two nations and forbid tourist packages to Turkey. These provisions are expected to have a considerable effect, as Turkish exports to Russia are worth more than $1.52B each year. Neither side is showing any signs of backing down following the controversial jet shooting, which Turkey claims was a violation of its airspace. Mr. Putin has firmly maintained that the jet was in Syrian territory and is expecting a formal apology that has yet to materialize.

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December 01, 2015

By Abbie Schepps

China has devalued its currency, the Yuan, three times in the past month. It was devalued by nearly 2 percent, followed by a 1.6 percent cut and a 1.1 percent cut. This may result in benefits to China such as export growth. It also places pressure on countries surrounding China, who may attempt to follow these currency cuts. In addition, it has the potential to greatly affect the U.S., as a strong dollar has the potential to become even stronger if the Federal Reserve decides to lift interest rates. The U.S. may experience further loss of international business opportunities to Chinese firms, because these firms can offer the same products for less money. It appears that China is sending a message of strength, but this devaluation may actually be a sign of China’s worsening economic condition and a real need to increase their exports.

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September 30, 2015

By Jenny Park

Although sanctions against Russia are hurting some EU businesses, recovery is not impossible. SMD, a specialist engineering firm that exports one fifth of its market to Russia, is searching for buyers in different export markets. The search may be slow-going, however, because it can take three to four years to win a major contract. Other firms, such as Scottish Engineering, however optimistically demonstrate that recovery is possible. 

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December 12, 2014

By Jieying Ding

A booming international trade in turtles is threatening turtles’ population nationwide, according to CBS Miami. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service propose rules to require exporters to get permits before shipping. Luckily, native turtles are not in danger of extinction at this point, but the increasing demands in exporting native turtles can threaten their long-term survival. If you have an opinion on our native turtles’ long-term survival, you have the opportunity to comment on the proposed rules until Dec. 29, 2014.

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November 18, 2014

By Catherine Kent

Last week, Mexico and Canada prevailed on their complaint before the WTO, which found that the U.S. labeling laws for meat have failed to comply fully with international fair trading rules. The U.S.’s challenged program – “Country of Origin Labeling” or “COOL” – requires that grocery stores and other meat retailers list where the meat was born, raised, and slaughtered on the label. The Canadian government maintains that this labeling law has resulted in fewer Canadian pigs and cattle being exported to the U.S. since 2009.

If the U.S.’s revised labeling rules are not approved by the WTO’s Appellate Body, the U.S. may face some serious trade sanctions from the two disgruntled countries. U.S. pork producers want the law fixed quickly to avoid any “financially devastating” retaliation from two of the U.S.’s largest trading partners; beef producers in the U.S. would like to eliminate the law altogether. Read more about these developments at Reuters. 

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October 29, 2014

By Stephen Levy

Vladimir Putin wants to restructure Russian consumer’s buying habits with his counter-sanctions, Quartz noted in a report on September 12th, not just harm EU and US companies. Putin’s announced sanctions, primarily used cars and clothes, more closely match the industries Putin previously targeted for domestic production than industries that would harm western exporters. As the article notes, the sanctions do not touch new cars, a much larger source of western exports.  As the article hints, though, urban Russians with a taste for western luxuries might not appreciate having to consume solely domestic products.

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September 23, 2014

By Aliza Kempner

Mexico’s export industry is learning to stay current. With competition growing from other low-cost locations and the lower house of Mexico’s congress approving President Enrique Peña Nieto’s proposal to eliminate a range of deductions and allowances benefiting factories, the companies that use these factories are trying to get involved in design and development.  

Successfully staying in the game could allow the Mexican companies to hold onto American investment in their products as the United States looks closer to home in response to rising costs in China. The Economists examines the context surrounding these departures from the tax policies of the past fifty years.

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November 14, 2013

By Phillip Yu

In China, radioactive leaks from rare earth refining have prompted the Chinese government to seize control of unregulated and illegal mining all over the country. While China has already poured billions of dollars into cleaning up the damage, the situation has escalated to an international scale, with a World Trade Organization panel in Geneva soon to issue a critical draft report.

The United States, the European Union, and Japan have challenged China’s taxes and quotas on exports of rare earth metals, noting that while China has been slowly increasing its profit margins, China has done little to limit rare earth consumption within its own borders.

A final decision by the World Trade Organization is expected on November 21, 2013.

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November 05, 2013

By Abraham Shanedling

The U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Tuesday that it had assessed $1.5 million penalty against a United Arab Emirates-based investment company for violating the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.

OFAC claims that from September 2009 to February 2010, Alma Investment LLC, which serves as a general trading company, originated at least six electronic fund transfers through U.S.-based financial institutions for the benefit of individuals and entities in Iran. Because Alma did not voluntary disclose such activity, it constituted a violation of OFAC’s ban on exporting services, directly or indirectly, from the United States to Iran or the government of Iran.

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October 23, 2013

By Phillip Yu

A $5.2 billion-dollar expansion of the Panama Canal is geared for completion in 2015. Already, studies have shown that this expansion can potentially provide a tremendous boost for natural gas producers in the Barnett Shale, a geological formation that acts as a large onshore natural gas field in Texas. The expansion of the Panama Canal will enable much larger ships to transport natural gas to China, Japan and other parts of Asia, where demand for natural gas is high but local supply is scarce. A 2011 study projected that the canal expansion will allow Texas to export an additional 15 million tons of cargo to the Pacific.

Read more at the Texas Tribune. 

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October 07, 2013