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The ever-vigilant Chris Blattman drew attention yesterday to Ethiopia’s currency devaluation. What was surprising and interesting about this move is that the devaluation was not undertaken under the usual duress of “macroeconomic adjustment.” Typically, in Africa, macroeconomic and foreign exchange crises have been the trigger for devaluation.
This is a joint post with Ben Leo.
It’s the season for trade talks with Africa again. The annual AGOA Forum, which opens today, is one of those ideas that sound terrific: assemble all of the relevant U.S. and African policymakers to discuss ways of generating greater commerce. Last year the forum was in Nairobi; this year it’s two days in Washington and then three days in Kansas City (consistent with the administration’s food security focus).
The New York Times this morning published an editorial titled “Waiting for a Trade Policy,” which noted that presidential backing for a single bilateral trade agreement does not a policy make:
Yesterday I attended the launch of a new Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) study on the potential benefits of completing the Doha Round of trade negotiations. While I share that goal, and hope that Gary Hufbauer’s and Jeff Schott’s sharp analysis can help deliver it, it still seems a distant prospect.
Earlier this month, senior fellow Kim Elliott and I discussed ways to improve trade preference programs for the least developed countries (LDCs) with colleagues at the World Trade Organization, the
As I mentioned in my last post, delegates from the least developed countries (LDCs) are meeting at multilateral institutions in Geneva to determine their priorities and objectives for the upcoming UN MDG review summit in September and the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) conference next May.
On Monday, CGD senior fellow Kim Elliott and I met in Geneva with World Trade Organization (WTO) staff and members of the subcommittee on the least developed countries (known as the LDC group) who are preparing for the once-a-decade United Nations conference focused on least developed countries.
Nearly four months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, and after receiving a letter from former Presidents William Clinton and George W. Bush, the U.S. Congress seems prepared to expand access for Haitian apparel exports with the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act. This is important because apparel is one of the few sectors, outside of construction, that can quickly create formal sector jobs for thousands of desperate Haitians, particularly women.
This is a joint post with Christopher Ksoll.
Since the volcanic eruption in Iceland on April 14th, we have been inundated with stories about flight disruptions. Demi Moore can no longer travel to the premiere of her new movie in London. The opening of “Iron Man 2” has been moved from Europe to Los Angeles. Millions of passengers have been stranded in the US, Europe, Africa and Asia, as airports from Manchester to Munich to Milan were closed. And now the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is urging European governments to find ways to “compensate” the airlines for over USD$ 1 billion in lost revenues.
The CGD Global Trade Preference Reform Working Group launched its new report, Open Markets for the Poorest Countries: Trade Preferences That Work, yesterday before a packed room during an event at the Center.
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