IBT News Blog

On Monday this week, President Bush signed his 2008 economic report. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news

The part in the report relevant to our class is Chapter 3. The Causes and Consequences of Export Growth where it reveals the Executive’s take on the U.S. economic policies and goals with respect to international trade. http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/2008_erp_ch3.pdf

As stated in the concluding remarks of the chapter, the Bush administration is pushing for further liberalization of trade with countries of various regions through multilateral, regional and bilateral negotiations. It also supports the expansion of multinationals by means of open investment, outsourcing, specialization, and division of labor.

Keeping these economic policies and goals in mind would help us analyze current events more in depth as to the on-going Executive actions with respect to foreign policy as well as in the context of balance of powers with other branches of government.

One thing I personally thought interesting to observe as it currently unfolds is, despite of its scandalous nature, the controversy over the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). http://spp.gov President Bush entered into agreement with the leaders of Canada and Mexico in 2005 to form a joint commitment to the security and prosperity of North America. Because of the vague language and informal nature of the agreement, so to speak, the SPP has brewed many speculations as to the motive of forming such pact among these three countries. One speculation is focused on the likelihood of creating a uniform currency pseudonymously called “Amero.” People who are bought into this speculation base the merit of the argument on the fact that Bush is aggressively seeking open markets for U.S. goods and services. They believe Bush has enough motive to create a uniform currency in North America as a way to form a trinational super FTA (no tariffs, minimal transportation costs, expansion of geographically advantageous markets, and convenience of getting cheap labor) with these countries. The US dollar is no longer competitive in international markets; the EURO is getting threateningly stronger; US economy is in the danger of going into a recession; and there is always security concern that also requires cooperation from neighboring countries. The White House is currently denying any truth to the speculation.

For a discussion between the two ends of the controversy,

http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/nau.asp

http://wehategringos.com/whg/?p=2705

To see the development of the controversy,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T74VA3xU0EA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H65f3q_Lm9U&feature=related

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=gYGrn0hZlCQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hiPrsc9g98

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnfk6kUvKX4

The real issue in this controversy is, however, the scope of the Executive power. Suppose President Bush would push the envelop that far and there is indeed a hidden agenda behind the pact created among the leaders of these three countries. The question is again: “is it constitutional?”

The UN has just warned that developing countries will see an increase in the price of cereals, which are often part of a healthy diet in these countries. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/7244382.stm

The President has announced that the US will implement further sanctions against the state of Syria and its leadership. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7244088.stm

In a follow-up to a previous posting about an injunction issued by a UK court in litigation between Exxon/Mobil and the state of Venezuela, a US court has just allowed an order of attachment effectvely freezing $300 million in assets belonging to the Venezuelan state-controlled oil entity. What are the potential implication of this act under FSIA or the act of state doctrine? See http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/14/business/exxon.php

Although figures for the last portion of 2007 indicate that Eurozone growth rates were less than anticipated, they have still been found to outpace US growth rates. See http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/33712ca8-daeb-11dc-9fdd-0000779fd2ac.html

Kurdish officials have granted oil exploration rights in the predominantly Kurdish portion of Iraq to a South Korean entity. See http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3718e844-dad4-11dc-9fdd-0000779fd2ac.html

The WTO's dispute resolution body has just issued its first finding against China in a case involving the rate at which the Chinese government taxes foreign-made auto parts. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7244027.stm