Readers of my last few posts on TPP would have noticed my complete disagreement with one Elizabeth Warren - junior Senator from the Bay State of Massachusetts. In this blogger's humble opinion she is a card carrying member of the loony left. And yet, here is proof that even from the loony left, an occasional wise word may arise (granted this is as rare as a bright sunny day in the great state of...
Monday, 25 May 2015
Friday, 22 May 2015
In defence of TPP - Secrecy in Negotiations
One of the biggest criticisms of the TPP in the US has been that the negotiations with other countries have been carried on in secrecy by the US government. US politicians have been falling over to yell themselves hoarse against this. When Wikileaks published confidential negotiation documents in their expose, there was much ballyhoo of how evil the government was.
Stuff and Nonsense. (The Queen...
Thursday, 21 May 2015
In defence of TPP - Environment and Intellectual property
In this post I'll tackle the issues raised against the TPP in the areas of environment and intellectual property.
The opposition to the TPP from environmental activists comes from two contradictory positions - one is that any promotion of trade and economic activity leads to degradation of the environment and therefore must be stopped. The second argument is that the TPP does not go far...
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
In defence of TPP - the loss of jobs
The opposition from labour unions in the US ( and labour activists everywhere in the world) to the TPP is that it will lead to the loss manufacturing jobs (read in the US) and therefore it is anti labour. I have some sympathy for the view of the labour unions in the US, but absolutely no sympathy for the "global labour activists".
In every change of the status quo, including opening up of...
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
In defence of TPP - the arbitration clause
One of the big issues in a trade relationship involving multiple countries is what happens if a country unilaterally decides to ban a product, or raise import duties astronomically, or take a similar form of unilateral action that dramatically affects the viability of a foreign investor's project. This might go against something that the government itself contractually agreed with the investor. What...
Monday, 18 May 2015
In defence of TPP
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade deal that 12 countries bordering the Pacific Ocean are negotiating. The countries include the USA, Japan, Australia and Canada, but exclude China. The TPP is being vigorously opposed by a collection of groups - Democrats in the US, environmental groups, labour unions and even Medicines Sans Frontiers. There is much fear mongering and shrill yelling,...
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
How does an American pronounce Pallagoundenpalayam ?
The most unlikely of bedfellows can come together in the business world. Consider this rather unusual "marriage".
The
bride is the city of Detroit. We shouldn't be uncharitable to a bride,
but the immediate words that come to mind when you mention Detroit are
decay, dilapidated, joblessness, ...
Saturday, 9 May 2015
Call the SNP's bluff
Just in case you were not following the British elections, a small earthquake happened. The Tories won, the Lib Dems were wiped out, Labour performed poorly, and UKIP performed well but got no rewards. The bigger earthquake happened north of the border where the Scottish Nationalist party (SNP)...
Thursday, 7 May 2015
A tough ethical issue
Businesses are often considered as machines without a heart. But even businesses face some gut wrenching ethical issues , where the "right" course of action is by no means obvious. Take the case of the compassionate care issue face by pharmaceutical companies.
Drugs produced by pharmaceutical companies are marketed after years, and sometimes, decades of clinical trials. They have to be approved...
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