Thursday, November 5, 2009

WTO, China and Youngstown

Taking yesterday's post to heart, the story missing from today's Mahoning Valley headlines:

The US, European Union and Mexico have asked for a World Trade Organisation dispute panel to investigate Chinese restrictions on exports of specialised raw materials used in industry, the latest indication that the global slowdown is leading to greater international action against China’s trade policies.

The request to the WTO claims that China’s restraints on exports of bauxite, magnesium and other raw materials, which are used to make steel, aluminium and some chemicals, is driving up the price of those end products.

If I was King of Youngstown, then every kid coming out of the local high schools would know the fundamentals of global civics and international political economy. Students should be able to understand how a WTO ruling could affect their lives. At the very least, Valley citizens should be able to read about it in the newspaper.

The Business Journal (a great newspaper that everyone interested in the TechBelt should be reading) does a good job of staying on top of global issues. But if they have a journalist dedicated to issues of globalization, I'm unaware of who she or he is. As the article about Mayor Williams meeting with V&M Star executives in Paris highlighted, international trade disputes involving China impact local employment. Today's news about the WTO investigation is a great opportunity to follow up that angle and clue readers in on an important development.

No comments:

Post a Comment