NYE::Tasmanian scallops, seared, coconut-cumin sauce, Gallagher 2009 Blanc-de-blancs, on the terrace… pic.twitter.com/qGpFKmvfYk
This is gross merch trade. A problematic proxy for total trade growth (incl FATS)?::twitter.com/Bruegel_org/st… twitter.com/Bruegel_org/st…
@kw_watson Of course it does! I take it back! BTW… Do you need a bridge with that?
@kw_watson Still, it’s doubtful THAT cheap charade will last beyond December ’16…
FT’s colourful account of CHN investments in AU makes no mention of tensions on FDI controls in Turnbull cabinet!?::app.ft.com/cms/s/d489a9ca…
@snlester Brrr… Miserable. Balmy 85-90 this week in Melb. About the same as ever. Please don’t touch that dial :-)
@dikenson just one rainbow is an hallucination at Julia Creek!
xtophercook The best Christmas article remains this one, which sadly has no author since it’s an FT leader. ft.com/cms/s/0/30e740… (cc: @alanbeattie)
#WTO Mins. agreed on an agricultural SSM (quotas ‘ad libitum’) for LDCs leaving details TBA. Can only cause trouble::wto.org/english/thewto…
CoppetainPU 4/5 Thoughts on #WTO #MC10 Should India change tack? Was isolated. Cd learn effectiveness from EU, China. agra-net.com/agra/agra-euro… (paywall)
US resistance to farm support cuts coupled with CHN’s post-accession standstill & IND’s rigid immobility. G-33 disarray not a deal breaker.
FT obituary is right on Doha’s long useless agony & probably on WTO’s afterlife. But the autopsy deserves more care::ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9…
Shameless insolence (& greed) from auto industry in support of AU’s swinging specific duty on used car imports::afr.com/news/policy/pr…
Intriguing. Que veut la Fed le fait le marché::zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-1…
@alanbeattie @SimonEvenett Still, I agree an MFN plurilateral on broad Ag is not going to happen until hell freezes over.
@alanbeattie @SimonEvenett Secular trends set incentives for #WTO deals (eg. EU farm reforms, impact of demographics on food terms of trade)
@alanbeattie @SimonEvenett Maybe. In 1995 we wd have said the same about a standalone ban on Ag exp subsidies.
@sdonnan Sure. Still, selective free trade has costs. Zero duties on steel but not autos boosts eff. protection for auto investors/labor
More #WTO “critical mass” deals (MFN plurilaterals) like ITA may be possible (#TISA? Pharma?) But seems unlikely on broad Ag. (or NAMA?)
snlester Nice to see success on agriculture export subsidies in Nairobi, but it’s domestic subsidies that are the main problem. #wto
Likely the end of WTO’s “single undertaking”, too. The G7’s 1995 plan to extract compliance fm LDCs backfired twitter.com/sdonnan/status…
taniavoon Unsurprising win for Australia given big tobacco shenanigans in #ISDS #plainpacks case - eg see tinyurl.com/ob7byey
Oops! It was The Hague Convention “Court of Arbitration”, not the ICC “Court”. Both have a Singapore base. My error.
“Defeats” is the right term. Seem it was not a “win” on the substance but on the ICC Court’s jurisdiction. twitter.com/IAReporter/sta…
sdonnan Meanwhile, at the @wto we have liftoff on ITA… on.ft.com/1O8wFzf
This is called OPENING the stable door after the horse has, you know… opened the door for itself. twitter.com/sdonnan/status…
Some data on services successes of mfg. firms. Still, Baumol reigns: “servitisation” —> sales +4%, employment +30%::voxeu.org/article/future…
Minister for Impoverishment plans cuts to our own use of low cost resources to… discourage customers in CHN, IND?::theaustralian.com.au/national-affai…
Worse still, it’s a specific duty of $12k per unit even in #TPP “free trade” schedule. Hits low-priced cars hardest twitter.com/MsGraceCollier…
Here’s an alt. route to the #Doha Ag. goals. In 2010 we argued it cd be done on an MFN basis. But I now doubt that::rirdc.infoservices.com.au/items/10-025
“[Trade goals] will not be achieved by trying again with the same failed approach” (Froman). Will any future deals be done on an MFN basis?
Those, BTW, are merely the lessons of #Doha. Hard won. About all we got.
Should #WTO emulate #COP21? No. Rather disagree than dissemble; pick real goals not sham; policy-relevant horizons::theaustralian.com.au/news/world/cli…
Smart summary fm. @dikenson. What changes might HC seek to reconcile Congr. D’crats to #TPP? Unlikely to be good::forbes.com/sites/danikens…
“Confidence buiding…”? Oh please! The illusion tha#WTOTO deals come from negotiation is just a diplomat’s fantasytwitter.com/CoppetainPU/st…YE
snlester “McConnell crushes hopes for TPP vote before the elections” thehill.com/policy/finance…
Adam_Creighton Treasurer can we grandfather the GST at 10% for anyone who’s arranged their financial affairs/life on the basis it would stay at 10%?
Instructive @kim_weatherall talk on #TPP IP Ch. Not a ‘gold standard’; new contexual stuff; bi-lats still bind; biologics compromise murky.
AU not there yet & not unilateral still, on goods #TPP + CHN FTA gets close (services -ve list difficult to parse). twitter.com/CatoTrade/stat…
David Uren: “Losers are better at picking governments than governments are at picking winners”::theaustralian.com.au/business/opini…
SincDavidson Rent-seekers on board? Tick. twitter.com/australian/sta…
CoppetainPU ICYMI Dec6 anniversary #WTO would rather forget: a little reminder @ipwatch #TRIPS #TFA #tradefacilitation #MC10 ip-watch.org/2015/12/06/the…
dikenson Economically rational, prof-max strategy is to sell at a loss, as long as price > variable cost. #microeconomics101 twitter.com/catotrade/stat…
@Dropbox says its a “planned” 16-hour dropout but drops the news on users with 12 hour’s notice??! #astonished #dropboxfail
For 16 hours!! “however you won’t be able to log in to the website, make changes to files, or share links”. This is BS @Dropbox!
How many Agriculture ministers push protection that hurts farmers? Only this dill!::theaustralian.com.au/national-affai…