The presidents of the “Pacific Alliance” (Chile, Colombia, México, and Perú) met last week in Cali, Colombia, to sign an agreement removing tariffs on 90 percent of their merchandise trade. This is good news. Congress and the Obama Administration should pay more attention to this trade bloc—one that is considerably …
Concluding The Heritage Foundation’s fifth annual Protect America Month series, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld shared his insights on why a free-market system that promotes economic freedom is critical to ensuring America’s prosperity and security. In an interview with Dr. Edwin Feulner, former president of The Heritage Foundation, Rumsfeld …
May 15th marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation of the U.S.–Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Over the past 12 months, a growing number of businesses in both countries have taken action to capitalize on the expanded opportunities for the free flow of products, services, and ideas created by the …
The situation encountered by Heritage analysts on the ground in Venezuela last week was of a country that has been looted and is falling apart—literally and figuratively. The once thriving nightlife of downtown Caracas is but a distant memory. These days the streets are deserted, surrendered to gangsters and narcotraffickers. …
The death of Margaret Thatcher received extensive media coverage in Chile, proving that the “Dama de Hierro” (“Iron Lady”) is still capable of stirring powerful emotions among Chileans—of irritation among her opponents and admiration from her supporters. Her passing occurred while Heritage economic experts were in Santiago to present results …
The United States is currently engaged in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations designed to reduce barriers to international trade and investment. The latest text from these negotiations shows how trade agreements, if properly designed and implemented, help advance economic freedom around the world. Among other things, the draft text calls …
In the latest issue of the journal Democracy, Michael Wahid Hanna identifies Seven Pillars of the Arab Future. First on his list: economic growth and equality. Among the troubling Middle East economic indicators highlighted by Hanna are low economic growth, inequality, and high unemployment, especially for youth. He identifies five …
As Cypriots come to grips with this week’s agreement to bail out its banks, Russian policymakers need to think about why their citizens are involved in this crisis. Around 40 percent of Cyprus bank deposits belong to Russian individuals or businesses, and accounts with more than 100,000 euros now face …
President Obama is in the Middle East this week, two years and three months after Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi unleashed the Arab Spring by protesting against his lack of economic freedom. Mohamed’s father died when he was three years old. When his stepfather became ill, Mohamed quit school to …
