With the U.S. announcing the pursuit of bilateral trade agreements with a host of South American nations, research fellow Kim Elliott takes a look what the impact of such agreements could be in Pitfalls in Asymmetric Negotiations: Will the U.S. be the Next Goliath?
Low-income countries with high levels of debt face a dilemma when considering new financing. Additional funding is needed to meet key development objectives, but too much new financing in the form of debt can exacerbate debt problems. Countries that borrow too much – even on concessional IDA terms – can quickly find themselves facing rapidly rising debt ratios that could threaten debt sustainability in the future.
Every developed country was once a developing country; every rich country was once poor. In other words, we can relate to the experience of today’s poor countries because we’ve been there, done that. The better we understand what Americans needed back then, the better we will understand what citizens of today’s poor countries need from us now.
CGD President Nancy Birdsall offers her thoughts on the U.S-Chile free trade agreement in Chile FTA and Capital Flows: A Bad Precedent?