| December 2005
Biotechnology | Business
| Intellectual Property | Labor
and Employment | WTO
Industries: Agriculture
| Automobiles | Pharmaceuticals
| Textiles
B1 - U.S. vs. EU: An Examination of the Trade Issues
Surrounding Genetically
Modiļ¬ed Food
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. December 2005. 64p.
This issue brief provides an overview of the history of the dispute
between the U.S. and the EU over GM foods and crops, the impacts
of the dispute on U.S. trade, and a summary of current EU regulations
and its approval process. The Appendices provide additional background
on other on-going international negotiations that may also affect
trade in GM crops, as well as information about the evolving structure
of EU governance. The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
is an independent and objective source of credible information
on agricultural biotechnology for the public, media and policymakers.
Fulltext
B2 - Public Sentiment About Genetically Modified Food
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, November 2005. Online,
various pagings.
This survey/report is an update of three similar surveys conducted
in recent years. It shows that awareness and knowledge among the
U.S. public about GM food has grown during the last year. Michael
Fernandez, executive director of the Pew Initiative on Food and
Biotechnology, admits that moral and ethic concerns play a big
role in consumer attitudes, but he says: "Despite these concerns,
consumers do not support banning new uses of biotechnology, but
are looking to government regulators to provide assurance that
new products are safe." Fulltext
Business
B3 - Are Small Businesses the Engines of Growth? Myths
and Reality
de Rugy, Veronique
American Enterprise Institute, December 21, 2005, 20p
"For nearly 20 years, political leaders of all stripes have
taken as gospel truth that small companies are the chief drivers
of economic growth and are responsible for about two-thirds of
all new jobs created in the United States. But is this conventional
wisdom true? Do the facts justify the many government spending
programs, tax incentives, and regulatory policies that favor the
small business sector?" Veronique de Rugy, AEI research
fellow. Fulltext
B4 - Measuring the Economic Impact of Wal-Mart on the
U.S. Economy
Global Insight. November 4, 2005, 64p
This new study analyses the national and regional impact of the
nation's largest retailer on the U.S. economy. The study was structured
to determine the net economic impact of Wal-Mart at the national,
city, and county level. It includes a summary and the full report
as well as links to related articles, some of which come to differing
conclusions. Global Insight, Inc. is a privately held company
comprised of DRI and WEFA, two respected sources of economic analysis,
forecasting and financial information. Fulltext
B5 - Fast Food, Obesity, and Tort Reform: An Examination
of Industry Responsibility for Public Health
Adams, Ronald
Business and Society Review, Fall 2005, v110, #3, p297-, 24p
"This paper assesses the severity of the obesity crisis with
particular focus on the question of the fast-food industry's responsibility
for the crisis. The first section of this paper briefly examines
current definitions and measures of obesity. The second section
of the paper outlines the bases for establishing industry responsibility
for obesity as articulated in litigation against fast-food chains
like McDonald's and Wendy's. Finally the paper focuses on questions
of social responsibility and tort reform." Ronald Adams
is a professor in the Management, Marketing, and Logistics Department,
Coggin School of Business, University of North Florida, Jacksonville,
Florida. Request Article
B6 - Corporate Income Tax Rates: International Comparison
Congressional Budget Office, November 2005. 60p
Corporate income taxes can distort the allocation of productive
resources both within the United States and across countries.
This analysis, prepared at the request of the Chairman of the
House Committee on Ways and Means, compares statutory and marginal
corporate income tax rates between 1982 and 2003 across a broad
range of countries. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective,
impartial analysis, this report makes no recommendations.
Fulltext
Intellectual Property
B7 - It's a Legal Matter, Baby:
Fair Use Law and the Rock 'n' Roll Scholar
Hamelman, Steven
Popular Music & Society, Dec 2005, v28, #5, pp577-594
" In order to reveal the discrepancy between the rock scholar's
desire to quote copyrighted lyrics and the limited use allowed
by holders of these copyrights, this essay explores the traditional
understanding of the "fair use" doctrine in the context
of a post-Napster, corporate-friendly legal world. In three parts-The
Law, The Book, and The Lesson-Hamelman analyzes recent legal developments
in copyright, discusses their impact on his 2004 book on rock
'n' roll music, and then provides guidelines for aspiring authors
in this field. The essay argues that scholars must not assume
that lyrics can be quoted with impunity, and that to avoid repercussions
they should prepare themselves for an arduous permissions process."
Steven Hamelman is Professor of English, Coastal Carolina
University. Fulltext
B8 - The AFL-CIO Split: Not Labor's Biggest Problem
Buhle, Paul
Tikkun, Nov/Dec2005, v20, #6, pp53-55
The disunity in the organized labor movement, as symbolized by
the split of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
from the AFL-CIO in July of this year, may actually be positive,
according to the author, because it highlights the need for "an
improved model committed to internationalism." Buhle maintains
that the new American economy could not exist without the low-wage,
immigrant, and global labor market and that the future of labor
lies in the integration of these workers and others whose membership
could "transform any future federation into an egalitarian
social movement linked self-consciously to the fate of working
people around the globe." Paul Buhle teaches labor and
cultural history at Brown University. Fulltext
B9 - Another Look at Offshoring: Which Jobs Are At Risk
and Why?
Stack, Martin; Downing, Ricard
Business Horizons, 2005, Nov/December 2005, v48, #6, pp513-523
"Many recent articles regarding offshoring have made sweeping,
industry-wide generalizations about the impact of this process,
but have not typically addressed the specific types of jobs that
are at risk and why. In this paper, (the authors) develop a framework
that integrates several key variables - the (changing) need for
proximity, the regulatory environment, firm-level security and
intellectual property rights concerns, and the socio-political
context within which the offshoring phenomenon is unfolding-which
collectively help explain how vulnerable particular jobs are to
offshoring". Martin Stack and Ricard Downing, Helzberg
School of Management, Rockhurst University. Request
article
B10 - From Seattle to Hong Kong
Bhagwati, Jagdish
Foreign Affairs, December 2005, WTO Special Edition, online
"There have been eight rounds of multilateral trade negotiations
prior to Doha. Although they all ended well, it is important to
remember that few went smoothly. Negotiators in Hong Kong now
face real obstacles, but there is reason for hope -- if, that
is, they have the will and courage to do what is necessary to
succeed." Jagdish Bhagwati is Senior Fellow in International
Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations and University Professor
in Economics and Law at Columbia University. Fulltext
B11 - Rescuing the Doha Round
Bergsten, C. Fred
Foreign Affairs, December 2005, WTO Special Edition, online
"The Doha Round could become the first major multilateral
trade talks to fail since the 1930s. To prevent a collapse, policymakers
in the G-8 and key developing countries must resolve global monetary
and current account imbalances, counter the backlash against globalization,
and find a way to jolt the talks back to life." C. Fred
Bergsten is Director of the Institute for International Economics.
He was formerly Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International
Affairs and Assistant for International Economic Affairs to the
National Security Council. Fulltext
B12 - The Stakes of Doha
Hills, Carla A.
Foreign Affairs, December 2005, WTO Special Edition, online
"Americans should care deeply about the Doha Round, but many
do not understand what it means for them and the rest of the world.
With the talks barely moving, it is time for supporters of free
trade to educate the American people in order to give Washington
the backing it needs to break the deadlock." Carla A.
Hills, CEO of Hills & Company, was U.S. Trade Representative
during the administration of President George H. W. Bush.
Fulltext
B13 - With or Without Doha
Barshefsky, Charlene
Foreign Affairs, December 2005, WTO Special Edition, online
"Today, the United States confronts four urgent challenges:
imbalances in global trade and capital flows, South America's
drift, Asia's economic integration, and the Muslim world's decline.
International trade policy alone cannot solve these complex concerns,
but it can play a pivotal role in dealing with each." Charlene
Barshefsky is Senior International Partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering
Hale and Dorr LLP in Washington, D.C. She was United States Trade
Representative from 1997 to 2001. Fulltext
B14 - Correcting Misperceptions
Sutherland, Peter D.
Foreign Affairs, December 2005, WTO Special Edition, online
"If trade talks were founded on a rational analysis of economic
interests, they would be much easier to conduct and conclude.
But most are not, and the Doha Round is no different. The key
to ensuring that something worthwhile does emerge from it is to
distinguish narrow political agendas from the broader public interest."
Peter D. Sutherland is Chairman of BP p.l.c. and of the Advisory
Board on the Future of the World Trade Organization. He was Director-General
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade from 1993 to 1995
and the founding Director-General of the WTO. Fulltext
Industries:
agriculture
B15 - Liberalizing Agriculture
Panagariya, Arvind
Foreign Affairs, December 2005, WTO Special Edition, online
"Agriculture will be the make-or-break issue in Hong Kong
for the United States, the European Union, and the Group of 20
mainly larger developing countries (G-20). On the surface, obstacles
to an agreement seem insuperable. But a careful examination of
the current agricultural trade regime reveals that prospects for
an agreement are not as bleak as they appear." Arvind
Panagariya is Professor of Economics at Columbia University.
Fulltext
B16 - The Effects of Liberalizing World Agricultural
Trade: A Survey
Congressional Budget Office
December 2005, 33p
This paper summarizes the results of a number of studies that
address the question: What would be the economic effects of reducing
or eliminating the policies that distort agricultural trade around
the world? A major issue on the agenda of the ongoing Doha Round
of multilateral negotiations by members of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) concerns how and to what extent policies that affect agricultural
trade should be liberalized. For most of the postwar period, the
series of multilateral negotiating rounds under the auspices of
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade allowed policies that
distort agricultural trade to continue in large part while tariffs
and other policies that distort trade in other sectors were progressively
reduced or eliminated. Fulltext
B17 - U.S. Dairy at a New Crossroads in a Global Setting
Blayney, Don P.; Gehlhar, Mark J.
Amber Waves, November 2005, 6p
"The U.S. dairy sector has advantages over its competitors
that enable it to withstand such changes-it has efficient production
systems open to foreign investment and it serves a large, growing
population of affluent consumers. Nevertheless, the pressures
of globalization, structural changes in world dairy markets, and
the potential for further trade liberalization as a part of the
current round of trade negotiations have brought the U.S. dairy
sector to a crossroads. Blayney and Gehlhar are both with
the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Fulltext
B18 - Rethinking Food Security for the Twenty-First Century
Falcon, Walter P.; Naylor, Rosamond L.
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, November 2005,
v87 #5, pp.1113-27
This article examines why concerns about food security have diminished,
at least relative to earlier periods. It argues that it should
be in the interest of agricultural economists to return this concept
to the G-8 agenda in light of the clear linkages between agricultural
development, economic growth, food security, and national security
in poor countries. Both authors are with the Center for Environmental
Science and Policy, Institute for International Studies, at Stanford
University. Fulltext
AUTOMOBILES
B19 - The Contribution of the International Auto Sector
to the U.S. Economy: An Update. A Study Prepared for the Association
of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc.
McAlinden, Sean ; Swiecki, Bernard
Center for Automotive Research, Economics and Business Group,
March 2005, 28p.
"The motor vehicle industry is the largest manufacturing
industry in the United States. No other single industry is linked
so much to the U.S. manufacturing sector or directly generates
so much retail business and employment. Our study describes the
economic contribution of an important sector of the U.S. motor
vehicle industry: the United States International Auto Sector
(USIAS). ... Our major findings include the fact that USIAS direct
U.S. employment has increased to over 93.000 and that this direct
employment total, when combined with related new vehicle dealership
employment, generates 1.8 million jobs in the U.S. economy, or
1.7 percent of total private sector employment in the United States."
Fulltext
B20 - In The Tank: How Oil Prices Threaten Automakers'
Profits and Jobs
McManus, Walter S. and others
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute,
Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation and Natural
Resources Defense Council, July 2005, 46p.
"Since the late 1990s, Detroit's three big U.S. automakers
-- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Company, and DaimlerChrysler
-- have relied heavily on large, truck-based sport utility vehicles
to drive company profits. But with gasoline prices now at near-record
highs, consumer demand for mid- and full-size SUVs is sinking
fast. What if higher gas prices are here to stay and the trend
away from gas-guzzling vehicles continues?" According to
this report, sales, profits, and American jobs are at risk if
Detroit automakers continue with their current business strategy
in the face of higher oil prices. Walter S. McManus is director
of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation, University
of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Fulltext
PHARMACEUTICALS
B21 - The Vioxx Litigation, Part II
Frank, Ted
American Enterprise Institute Working Paper, December 15,
2005, 13p
"Part I of this AEI Working Paper examined the history of
Vioxx and asked questions about potential over-deterrence from
having manufacturers bear the full measure of the social cost
of drugs through strict products liability or failure-to-warn
claims in the context of two early lawsuits brought against its
maker, Merck. This installment looks at the problems presented
by the Vioxx cases for the litigation system as a whole."
Ted Frank is a resident fellow and director of the Liability
Project at AEI. Fulltext
B22 - How Vioxx is Changing U.S. Drug Regulation
Zwillich, Todd
Lancet, November 19, 2005, v366, #9499, pp1763-1764
The article looks at how the trials involving Merck & Co.
Inc.'s drug Vioxx are changing drug regulation in the United States.
Merck & Co. faces more than 6000 lawsuits involving the drug
In the author's view, no matter how these legal battles are resolved,
they are already impacting how the pharmaceutical industry and
government regulators do business. The article includes comments
on the issue from the attorney representing one of the plaintiffs,
as well as comments regarding the ongoing litigation from Merck's
vice president and associate general counsel. Fulltext
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
B23 - Remaking U.S. Textiles Out of Whole Cloth
Norton, Stephen J.
CQ Weekly, October 3, 2005, p2632-
"When the House voted to implement the Central America Free
Trade Agreement in July, it did so by only a two-vote margin.
One crucial "yes" vote came from Robin Hayes, a Republican
whose textile-heavy North Carolina district once was home to the
world's biggest towel maker. Under pressure from GOP leaders,
he switched his position during the roll call when it looked as
if the agreement might be rejected. Another last-minute supporter
was Republican Robert B. Aderholt, whose northern Alabama district
is a centerpiece of U.S. sock manufacturing. Hayes and Aderholt
are part of a small cadre of lawmakers who are still fighting
for what amount to patchwork fixes to help preserve the faded
American textile and apparel industries, which are at risk of
disappearing altogether." Request
Article
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