Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Mitch Moxley BEIJING, Aug 18, 2010 (IPS) – China, now the world’s second largest economy with a ferocious appetite for resources, is aggressively strengthening relations with Latin American countries, but this has not been without roadblocks. According to a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America [...]
TRADE-NEPAL: Carpet Industry Frayed at the Edges
August 13, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Bhuwan Sharma KATHMANDU, Aug 13, 2010 (IPS) – It was an industry pioneer and had even proved itself successful in the export market. But these days Jawalakhel Handicraft Centre (JHC) is barely able to sustain itself on retail sales, and general manager Chimi Dorjee has been reduced [...]
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Removing Barriers to Trade
August 4, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Charles Mpaka* BLANTYRE, Aug 4, 2010 (IPS) – Cecilia Gondwe waits in the shade of a tree at the Mwanza Border Post between Malawi and Mozambique. Somewhere inside, a clearing agent is completing elaborate paperwork on her behalf. The agent will deal with customs officials, going over [...]
Bribery Will Eat into Gains of East African Integration
July 30, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Jerome Mwanda IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis NAIROBI (IDN) – A new report has warned that unless bribery is banned, 126 million citizens of the East African Community will be deprived of the benefits that economic integration promises to bring in its wake. These words of caution stem from the [...]
Canada Coming With Worse Than Oil
July 19, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Jul 19, 2010 (IPS) – Fears of a trade dispute with Canada have made European Union officials reluctant to categorise tar sands from North America as a more polluting fuel than conventional petrol. Officials working for the EU’s executive, the European Commission, are considering [...]
China: Outsmarting the West in African Markets
July 18, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS Davison Makanga interviews DEBORAH BRAUTIGAM, professor International Development at American University CAPE TOWN, Jul 18 (IPS) – China’s interest in Africa is frequently portrayed simply as that of a rising economic power seeking natural resources. Deborah Brautigam argues that this portrayal misses the full complexity of business relations [...]
CHINA-NIGERIA: New Refinery Planned for Lagos Free Trade Zone
July 18, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Toluwa Olusegun* LAGOS, Jul 18, 2010 (IPS) – Nigeria is a place where many more deals are announced than are ever completed. But July saw progress towards the construction of one of three new Nigerian refineries expected to reduce imports of refined petroleum products, a costly and [...]
Guyana Has No Regrets over Holding Out on EPA
July 13, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Peter Richards MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Jul 12, 2010 (IPS) – Two years after 14 Caribbean countries signed a wide-ranging and controversial Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Europe, Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo still maintains that his country was right in holding out until the last minute to get [...]
Shaping the Post-Crisis Order without a Silver Bullet
July 13, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Gregory Chin* IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis TORONTO (IDN) – During the summer of 2010, it would be understandable if interested observers of global affairs are swept up in summit fever. The twin G8/G20 summits in Canada late June and the meeting of the G20 proper which is to commence [...]
WEST AFRICA: New Cocoa Agreement Is a Sweet One, Producers Say
July 6, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS Isolda Agazzi GENEVA, Jul 5 (IPS) – The new international cocoa agreement will provide a positive shake-up in the international cocoa market and ensure better prices for stakeholders, including small farmers. It also strengthens the participation of civil society and the private sector in the cocoa industry, according [...]
