Posts Tagged ‘foreign policy’

Hu’s on First? China’s Leader Hu Jintao and Barack Obama To Talk Money (and Power) At White House

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

mcdonalds-shanghai.jpg
credit: Ivan Walsh

In important trade talks with China, the U.S. wants to make sure American companies can do business in the world’s second biggest economy…

  • The U.S. is still the biggest economy in the world, but China is #2 and growing. So of course American companies want to do business there.
  • The problem, according to many U.S. companies: China is shutting them out.
  • The Chinese government is creating loads of restrictions that make it really hard for foreign companies to thrive.
  • At Wednesday’s meeting, Obama is expected to take a tougher stance to get China to relax its foreign trade rules.

Facts and Figures

  • Obama and Hu will meet with 18 business leaders from China and the U.S. in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in DC on Wednesday

Best Quote

“U.S. companies have issues with China in many different business sectors.” – John Frisbie, president of the U.S.-China Business Council in Washington, D.C.

What do you think?

Has any part of your life been touched by the rise of China?

Why can’t you buy Cuban cigars in the States?

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Currently in the U.S., it is illegal to buy, import, or sell cigars from Cuba. But, while cigars may be the most famous banned item, this law actually applies to any product from Cuba. The reason stems from a 1960 decision to impose a trade embargo on Cuba under President John F. Kennedy. The idea was to punish Cuba for hostile actions during the Cold War by denying it access to the enormous U.S. economy.

The embargo has been revised several times since its inception, but it hasn’t yet been lifted despite repeated calls for a free trade agreement from the business community. This embargo only applies to imports to the U.S., so American travelers will sometimes purchase Cuban cigars and other products in foreign countries and bring them back to America (although this is technically illegal).