Word: important
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...priority reforms. A Shanghai-based executive for a European sporting-goods company dismisses the notion that China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will eliminate trade barriers. Even after the WTO agreement kicks in, his company will still have to pay an amount double the current national import tariff to ship his sneakers from Shanghai to the central city of Chongqing, because of protectionist fees imposed by provincial governments. Earlier this year, a U.S. automaker discovered that sending a sedan from Shanghai to northern Ningxia province is more expensive than shipping it from Detroit to Shanghai because truckers...
...usual, in matters that pit Americans against Europeans, there's plenty of mutual ignorance. Americans don't understand that for Europeans, whose memory of war crimes is deep, anything that codifies the rightful conduct of war is ipso facto desirable. Europeans seem unable to appreciate the import of congressional sentiment against the court. Congress (unlike most European parliaments) is not a rubber stamp; it has a constitutional role in international affairs, and it takes it seriously...
...their inspirational performance at this World Cup might seem like a bolt from the blue, Japan's football skills have been under development for a decade. Much of the credit for this year's breakthrough inevitably goes to their fire-breathing dragon of a coach, Philippe Troussier. The French import, known for gesticulating wildly on the sidelines while his interpreter perfectly mimics his antics, once taunted his players for being pampered babies whose play lacked passion. This is no longer an issue. "Their midfield play is superb," says Leonardo, the Brazilian giant from the 1994 winning World Cup team...
...blocking decisions like takeovers. The E.U.'s second-highest court then overturned the European Commission's 1999 decision to stop a merger between Airtours (now renamed My Travel) and First Choice, two British travel companies. The $1.2 billion deal will not be revived, but the case sets an important precedent. This is the first time a court has overturned a Commission anti-trust decision, and it comes while several larger appeals are pending - including the thwarted takeover of Honeywell by General Electric and the merger of WorldCom and Sprint. It may be too early to declare a new outbreak...
...which employs 70,000 people, last year became the country's second-biggest foreign-exchange earner after tea. But that may all change in 2008, when Kenya will be slightly too rich to qualify for the "least-developed country" status that allows African producers to avoid paying stiff European import duties on selected agricultural products. With trade barriers in place, the industry in Kenya will shrivel as quickly as a discarded rose. And while agriculture exports remain the great hope for poor countries, reducing trade barriers in other sectors also works: America's African Growth and Opportunity Act, which cuts...