Summit, What Summit?
Russia is devaluing the ruble. The Nasdaq has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years. And Brazil's shares and currency plunged after Hank Paulson officially announced that the U.S. actually won't be buying up what are popularly called "toxic assets," the exotic bonds that have triggered the global economic turmoil.
Which, if you listen to the largely skeptical analysts in Washington, means it's time for twenty fractious global leaders to gather in Washington, issue a statement saying they'll meet again in a few months, then go home as the news gets worse.
That was the basic message of a good briefing today on this weekend's meeting of the G-20 nations. The briefing was held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Nothing positive can come out of this meeting, only bad," said Charles Freeman, who works on China issues at CSIS. He added that that's probably one reason why President-elect Barack Obama will stay in Chicago and clear of the G-20. "He doesn't want his fingerprints anywhere on this. There is only one president and he's glad it's not him." Freeman said.
"Obama is voting 'present,'" quipped Grant Aldonas, a international trade specialist at the center.
Other takeaways: Though Brazil, the U.S. and perhaps others would like to resurrect the Doha global trade accord, it's still too disputatious to go nowhere. ("We'll be selling 'Doha is Dead' t-shirts in the lobby," said Andrew Schwartz, the center's spokesman, summarizing the group's conclusion.). And stimulus money being distributed around the world should be precisely targeted for productivity growth, and not simply given out. "You don't want to just poor water in the sand," said Steven Schrage, who formerly advised Mitt Romney on trade and economics, and now coordinates the study of international commerce at CSIS.
Lastly: Any fundamental reforming of the international financial system is going to be years, not days or months, away.
Which, if you listen to the largely skeptical analysts in Washington, means it's time for twenty fractious global leaders to gather in Washington, issue a statement saying they'll meet again in a few months, then go home as the news gets worse.
That was the basic message of a good briefing today on this weekend's meeting of the G-20 nations. The briefing was held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Nothing positive can come out of this meeting, only bad," said Charles Freeman, who works on China issues at CSIS. He added that that's probably one reason why President-elect Barack Obama will stay in Chicago and clear of the G-20. "He doesn't want his fingerprints anywhere on this. There is only one president and he's glad it's not him." Freeman said.
"Obama is voting 'present,'" quipped Grant Aldonas, a international trade specialist at the center.
Other takeaways: Though Brazil, the U.S. and perhaps others would like to resurrect the Doha global trade accord, it's still too disputatious to go nowhere. ("We'll be selling 'Doha is Dead' t-shirts in the lobby," said Andrew Schwartz, the center's spokesman, summarizing the group's conclusion.). And stimulus money being distributed around the world should be precisely targeted for productivity growth, and not simply given out. "You don't want to just poor water in the sand," said Steven Schrage, who formerly advised Mitt Romney on trade and economics, and now coordinates the study of international commerce at CSIS.
Lastly: Any fundamental reforming of the international financial system is going to be years, not days or months, away.
Labels: doha, g-20, g-7, g-8, global trade, globalization
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