Search

Begin New Search Topic International Affairs Political Geography Global Focus

281. IMF Quota and Governance Reform Once Again

Author:
Edwin M. Truman
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Once again, the United States and other members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been asked to address the adequacy of IMF financial resources and the distribution of voting power in the Fund. Observers are justified in thinking that they just witnessed this drama. IMF members completed an agreement on the size of IMF quota resources and governance—or voting power—reform in November 2010. As part of that agreement on the 14th general review of IMF quotas, members committed to bring forward the completion of the 15th general review of quotas to January 2014. The target was not met because the United States delayed approving the 2010 agreement until December 2015, which was necessary for the implementation of the 14th review. As a result, in December 2016, the governors of the IMF freshly resolved to complete the 15th review by the spring of 2019 or the fall of 2019 at the latest.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

282. The Case for Raising de minimis Thresholds in NAFTA 2.0

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Euijin Jung, and (Lucy) Lu Zhiyao
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The fraught negotiations over revising the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have focused largely on US demands to limit imports from Canada and Mexico. But one little discussed step could help the United States increase exports to Canada and Mexico in a way the Trump administration ought to support. US express shipments to its NAFTA partners are far below potential, partly due to what are called low de minimis thresholds in those countries. The de minimis threshold refers to the value of imported goods below which no duty or tax is collected, and the customs declaration is very simple.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

283. The Dispute Settlement Crisis in the World Trade Organization: Causes and Cures

Author:
Tetyana Payosova, Gary Clyde Hufbauer, and Jeffrey Schott
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Since its inception in 1995, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism has resolved an impressive number of trade disputes and has earned a reputation as the “crown jewel” of the global trading system. Today, however, the mechanism is in crisis. WTO members have failed to negotiate updates to the rulebook, including rules on dispute settlement itself. As a result, the WTO Appellate Body increasingly is asked to render decisions on ambiguous or incomplete WTO rules. Its interpretations of such provisions have provoked charges by the United States and others that binding Appellate Body rulings, which establish precedents for future cases, effectively circumvent the prerogative of member countries to revise the WTO rulebook and thus undercut the national sovereignty of WTO members. For the past few years, US officials have blocked appointments of Appellate Body members to force WTO members to negotiate new rules that address US concerns and limit the scope for judicial overreach. If this problem is not resolved, the Appellate Body soon will not have enough members to review cases and the vaunted WTO dispute settlement system will grind to a halt.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

284. The New Tax Law’s Impact on Inequality

Author:
William R Cline
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The centerpiece of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 is the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. The Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated the net revenue loss from the tax overhaul at $1 trillion over the next decade. The underlying premise of the legislation is that lower corporate taxes will spur growth, with trickle-down wage benefits that spread the resulting economic gains.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

285. The Razumkov Center Newsletter

Author:
Razumkov Center
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
Judging from President’s latest statements on his readiness to capture Ukraine’s stable progress towards EU and NATO membership in the Preamble to the Constitution, we are to expect yet another session of “constitutional vivisection”. Moreover, it is very likely that the parliament and the president will finalise the long-term story of bidding farewell to the constitutional guarantees of parliamentary immunity. Also, one cannot write off a possible attempt to implement the currently semi-fictional idea of transitioning to a parliamentary form of government, again – by introducing corresponding amendments to the Constitution.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

286. The Razumkov Center Newsletter

Author:
Razumkov Center
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
In February of this year, Stanislav Shevchuk was elected the new Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) at one of its sessions. Position of CCU Chairman has been vacant since 20 March 2017. This is when Yurii Baulin’s term has run out. On several occasions, elections of a new chairman were disrupted. In December 2017, they did not take place due to the lack of candidates. The responsibility of CCU Chairman, besides swearing in the newly elected president, is to organise the regular work of the Constitutional Court. We also expect the pressure on the new chairman to mount after the appointment of two new CCU judges on the president’s quota and the election of two more judges on the Verkhovna Rada’s quota.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

287. The Razumkov Center Newsletter

Author:
Razumkov Center
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
On 30 January 2018, in Kyiv, Razumkov Centre together with the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting and CEDOS think tank presented the annual 2017 global top think tanks rating (2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report). This report is issued since 2008 by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania (USA).
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

288. Four reasons why Denmark should speak up about lethal autonomous weapons

Author:
Johannes Lang, Robin May Schott, and Rens van Munster
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Formal UN discussions have begun to address how the international community should regulate the development and use of lethal autonomous weapons – also known as ‘killer robots’. Denmark has so far chosen not to participate in these discussions, but there are good reasons to get involved.
Topic:
International Affairs and Weapons
Political Geography:
Global Focus

289. Failure to define killer robots means failure to regulate them

Author:
Johannes Lang, Rens van Munster, and Robin May Schott
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Disagreements on how to define “autonomy” are stalling formal UN discussions on the compliance of autonomous weapons with international humanitarian law. A pragmatic approach that focuses on the weapon’s critical functions, such as target selection and firing, can help move discussions forward in the future.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

290. Armed groups are here to stay

Author:
Jairo Munive and Finn Stepputat
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Armed non-state actors are significant players in most conflicts. The international community is often forced to engage with them in order to secure humanitarian aid for civilians or to end armed political conflicts. The question of when and how to engage is being debated. We sug­gest a more pragmatic approach.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus