Daniel J. Ikenson (Author at The Cato Institute)

Don't Bail Out the Big Three (Commentary)

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

One day before the CEOs of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler told the Senate Banking Committee that their industry faced imminent collapse without an emergency infusion of $25 billion, a new automobile assembly plant opened for business in Greensburg, Indiana. Although the hearing on Capitol Hill r...

What's Good for GM? (Daily Podcast)

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

There's Nothing Wrong with a "Big Two" (Commentary)

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

The "Big Three" auto producers - Ford, Daimler-Chrysler and General Motors - want the public to believe their industry faces an existential threat. It doesn't. They want the public to believe they are innocent victims of circumstances beyond their control. They're not. They want the treasury secreta...

Some Good News on Trade (Daily Podcast)

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Doha Is Dead, Liberalization Lives (Daily Podcast)

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Bad Trade (Commentary)

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Considering the disposition of the 110th Congress, it's probably just as well that the Doha World Trade negotiations failed to produce any new agreements. Litigation and enforcement — not cooperation or negotiation — are in vogue with the trade leadership on Capitol Hill. Administrations and c...

Greasing the World Economy Without Doha (Commentary)

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Doha trade round died a thousand deaths long before this week. But outside the bureaucracies in Geneva, Brussels and Washington, few are grieving because the world economy has moved on. As Doha negotiations sputtered for seven years, the WTO reports that annual global trade flows have increas...

Cato Scholars Comment on Recent WTO Talks (Scholar Comments)

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Doha Round has struggled to gain any secure footing since its inception in 2001. That is partly explained by the fact that the world economy has forged ahead at breakneck speed during that time. Rising economic fortunes in countries that were once desperate for a deal have transformed the multilateral trade agreement business into a buyers' market. If the political costs of a Doha Round agreement outweigh the political benefits for negotiators representing any big country, then agreement will remain elusive. Based on what has transpired in Geneva over the past nine days, it is evident that more than one country fits that description.

Cato Scholar Comments on Decline in Outsourcing (Scholar Comments)

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The incentives to produce abroad weaken when your own currency is in a prolonged decline, the costs of production abroad are in a continuous ascent, and transportation costs are at record highs. But even without these trends, the incentive to produce in the United States has always been strong, as evidenced by new records in manufacturing output, the revenues being achieved year after year, and by the continuous inflow of foreign direct investment into U.S. manufacturing facilities. The United States is an alluring place since it is also the world's largest market, it provides access to a large pool of skilled workers, a relatively certain business climate, decent infrastructure, and has durable institutions rooted in the rule of law.

Cato Scholar Comments on Ford's Record Losses (Scholar Comments)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The U.S. automotive industry is in transition, but it is certainly not threatened. The effects of rising fuel and food prices, declining home values, and the slowing economy have curtailed demand for big ticket items, like cars and trucks. Auto producers are in the process of reconsidering future production mixes and are incurring costs to write down the value of assets and to retool their plants accordingly to expectations of future demand. This process may produce a few more quarters of negative profitability and perhaps worse for some firms, but the U.S. automobile industry, particularly that portion that relies on a non-union work force, will thrive once again.

Cato Scholars Comment on Latest Round of Doha Talks (Scholar Comments)

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Trade ministers are meeting in Geneva this week in a last-ditch effort to conclude the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks. Although an ambitious accord would be most welcome news, chances are such an outcome will prove elusive.

But with or without a successful Doha agreement, there are plenty of reforms that countries can undertake on their own terms to liberalize trade further and spur economic growth. In fact, trade and development economists believe there is much more to gain from reforming customs clearance, logistics, and trade infrastructure bottlenecks than there is from the kinds of tariff and subsidy reforms on the table in the Doha Round.

A one-day reduction in the time it takes traders to comply with all import and export regulations in the United States would spur an additional $31 billion of annual U.S. trade, according to World Bank researchers. And the projected trade gains for developing countries from reducing their trade clearance and compliance times to average OECD levels dwarfs projected Doha Round gains several times over.

Trade, Growth: Weep Not for Doha (Commentary)

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Doha Round of multilateral trade talks has already died a thousand deaths. But, apart from the bureaucracies in Geneva, Brussels and Washington, few are grieving. That's because the world economy is moving forward without a World Trade Organization treaty. While Doha negotiations hav...

China's Energy Woes (Commentary)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The process of creative destruction, Joseph Schumpeter wrote, is "the essential fact about capitalism." The old is destroyed by the new and improved. But it is an essential fact that the Chinese leadership is unwilling to accept. Thus for 30 years, with great success, China has harnessed capitalism ...

Trade, They SED (Commentary)

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Proponents of a confrontational approach to trade relations have been critical of the deliberative nature of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, which began its fourth semi-annual installment in Annapolis Tuesday. They point to a “lack of progress” on issues that the United States has been a...

Cato Scholars Comment on the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (Scholar Comments)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Proponents of a confrontational approach to trade relations have been critical of the deliberative nature of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, which begins its fourth semi-annual installment in Annapolis today. Critics point to a "lack of progress" on issues that the United States has been advocating since before the first SED in 2006. Critics believe that since the Chinese government can mobilize the resources to build an Olympic stadium in a matter of months, it can mandate a much stronger currency and a balanced trade account with dispatch and without adverse economic consequences, if only to assuage a small, but vocal, set of U.S. detractors.

That is an arrogant and preposterous standard of success. The objective of the SED from the outset has been to achieve progress on the sorts of structural issues that underlie trade imbalances: for example, high savings rates in China due to the absence of health, life, and disability insurance markets and other uncertainties that encourage excessive thrift; and, excessive spending on the part of the U.S. government. Now the SED's agenda includes other long-term policy issues that transcend trade policy, including energy consumption and carbon emissions.

What critics should recognize is that support for their provocative tack is dwindling. Despite the introduction of dozens of anti-China trade bills in the 110th Congress, none has passed into law. And there is little momentum to move any legislation before the end of the term because, frankly, thing are working themselves out. The Chinese currency has appreciated by 20 percent against the dollar since it was unpegged in July 2005; U.S exports to China are setting new records every year -- in just the first quarter of this year U.S. exports to China rose 25%, while U.S. imports growth from China slowed to 2 percent; the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization is working to resolve legitimate U.S. complaints about Chinese trade practices; and, there is growing recognition that further depreciation of the dollar will only fuel inflation, as Americans struggle to fill their gas tanks and shopping carts.

China-bashing, it is becoming apparent, isn't good for consumers' wallets.

Trade, China and Deficits (Daily Podcast)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

While Doha Sleeps: Securing Economic Growth through Trade Facilitation (Trade Policy Analysis)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Improving the international trading system does not require new, comprehensive multilateral agreement. Countries can derive large gains from the trading system by engaging in reforms often referred to as trade facilitation.In broad terms, trade facilitation includes reforms aimed at improving the ch...

Cato Scholar Comments on Reported Decline in U.S. Manufacturing (Scholar Comments)

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Reports of slowing output in the manufacturing sector reflect sluggishness in the overall economy. Although the sensational conclusion is that this decline in output is further evidence of the 'hollowing out' of American manufacturing, it is nothing more than a cyclical fact of economic life. All relevant statistics for measuring the health of the sector -- revenues, profits, output, value- added, return on investment -- have been trending upward for years and will continue to trend in that direction barring shortsighted policy intervention. If policymakers are to do anything, the Federal Reserve should return to fulfilling its mission of price stability. Fighting inevitabilities of the business cycle through easy money policies are driving up costs to American producers and consumers through the return of inflation.