US Commerce Research Articles

US Rapprochement with Indonesia: From Problem State to Partner — A Response

Much has been made about the positive state of US-Indonesia ties. The election of Barack Obama as US President in 2008 and the promulgation of the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CPA) has ushered in a new chapter in relations between the world's second and third largest democracies. Historical impediments are slowly being removed and political prejudices are gradually dissolving, laying the foundation for a stronger cooperative framework. However, nearly half-way into Obama's presidential tenure, and a year past President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's resounding reelection, the enthusiasm towards the bilateral relationship built up since Obama's election seems to have waned. Irrespective of progress on the political front, perceptions of the bilateral relationship has not grown with equal zeal. As explained further in this paper, the multiple cancellations of President Obama's visit to Indonesia, and the decline of the US as a primary destination of study for Indonesian students show that Indonesia-US ties are still a long way from being the envisioned partnership. Despite the optimism generated, US-Indonesia ties are proving yet again to be full of potential, without ever being fully realized. The preceding paper by Dr Murphy has accurately highlighted the developments, undercurrents and potentials in the bilateral relationship, and there is little, if any, that can be faulted from the facts and conclusions presented. The political enthusiasm of re-engagement is evident in the flurry of diplomatic activity over the past year to flesh out the CPA. Yet while the CPA and other diplomatic gestures are significant, they cannot fully explain the true nature of the relationship. The Politics of Economy While the CPA helps to promote bilateral relations, it is worth asking if the US-Indonesia relationship would be worse off without it? Ultimately the answer to this question can be found by comparing the CPA with other similar declarations of political cooperation signed by Jakarta. For example, technically, how unique is the CPA compared to the Strategic Partnership signed by Indonesia and China in 2005? A comparative exercise helps demonstrate the difference in approach that may impact Indonesian perceptions towards the US and China. It also helps flesh out trends that go beyond declarations and diplomatic niceties. A comparative exercise, then, indicates that while China approaches agreements as a political venture, the United States seems focused on concrete deliverables. In her paper, Ann Marie Murphy quotes US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as saying that nationalism, regulatory uncertainty, unresolved investment disputes and lack of transparency gives pause to American companies seeking to do business in Indonesia. Locke is undoubtedly correct. And it cannot be doubted that Indonesia has a long way to go in improving its image as one of the world's most corrupt countries. Yet Indonesians wonder why US companies dive in regardless of questionable political circumstances into a country like China, the world's largest nondemocratic state. Statistics from the Indonesian Ministry of Trade reveal that in the first five months of this year US-Indonesia trade increased by 34.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2009. (1) Most notably though, trade saw a significant slump from $20.2 billion in 2008 to $17.9 billion in 2009, largely as a result of the economic crisis in the United States. But this increase in the volume of two-way trade belies the lethargy over the previous five years: between 2005 and 2009, US-Indonesia bilateral trade grew by a modest 8.8 per cent, far too small for the third and fourth most populous nations in the world. On the surface, US investment in Indonesia has demonstrated an upward trend: in 2009, the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board ranked the US in seventh place behind countries such as Singapore, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and the Seychelles. …

Comment on “US Foreign Direct Investment in East Asia: Strategy and Policy Issues”

Mahani and Izzatina (2009) address five distinct sets of issues: the pattern of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows between East Asia and the USA (Section 2); the determinants of US FDI flows into East Asia (Section 3.1); the formulation of FDI policies in East Asian economies (Section 3.2); policy issues for Asian economies (Section 4); and US policy issues (Section 5). Unfortunately, these five topics remain poorly integrated in the final draft, perhaps because it is impossible to integrate them successfully in a single, journal-length paper. The paper is thus somewhat confusing and it is sometimes difficult to see how the various topics are related to the authors' key messages, or for that matter, to discern what the key messages are. For example, in the abstract, the authors state, “Bilateral free trade agreements with the USA are the likely channel for these [FDI policy] changes . . .” and then in Section 4.1 they state that “Bilateral FTAs are regarded as better than multilateral agreements as a way of opening the services sector.” However, this point is never mentioned in the conclusion, and the authors never acknowledge the fact that any proposal to use bilateral FTAs as a means of opening up the services sector is likely to be highly controversial to many, if not most international economists. The fundamental problem with any bilateral FTA is of course the potential to create inefficiencies through trade diversion, and this important drawback to a policy of promoting bilateral FTAs is never acknowledged. The authors are correct to emphasize the potential benefits of further liberalization of restrictions on inward FDI in Asian host economies, but I think there is a serious potential for creating large, offsetting inefficiencies if bilateral FTAs are relied on to facilitate liberalization. Rather I would have preferred more emphasis on the benefits of unilateral liberalization, both as they relate to past experience and the potential effects of future policies. On a more mundane point, the focus on FDI stocks in Section 2 is not very appropriate if the goal is to evaluate the extent of US multinational corporation (MNC) activity in Asia and related policies. This is because FDI stocks are related to not only the real activity of affiliates (as a source of financing purchases of fixed assets) but also to liquidity preferences of affiliates receiving the FDI (e.g. their demand for financial assets in a host country) and the structure of their finance sources (local vs. foreign sources of equity [defined in a balance sheet sense to include reinvested earnings] and loans). For example, note that the FDI stocks only accounted for 17 % of all liabilities (=assets) on the books of non-bank affiliates in East Asia in 2004 (US Department of Commerce, 2008). In this respect, I think that focusing on sales or employment of affiliates would have been more useful in this context. One important point that the analysis totally misses is that a large portion of US FDI in non-manufacturing was in petroleum extraction, especially in Indonesia where mining accounted for three-fifths of the FDI stock in 2004. In addition, although the paper does acknowledge that local sales were very large in China, it fails to sufficiently emphasize the importance of local sales region wide. For example, in 2004, local sales accounted for two-thirds or more of all sales by majority-foreign affiliates in Japan (90%), China (74%), Korea (89%), Taiwan (73%), and Thailand (71%); about half in Hong Kong (45%), Indonesia (49%), and the Philippines (57%); and over one-third in Malaysia (42%) and Singapore (34%), according to the US Department of Commerce, 2008). These facts are also inconsistent with the statement that “the major motive for US investment in East Asia is to export to the MNCs' home and to other third countries” in Section 3.1. The paper does contain a number of useful discussions, especially on the need for further policy liberalization, improved education, and further institutional development in host East Asian economies. Unfortunately, these discussions are mixed in with confusing points, such as those mentioned earlier, which means that the reader should be careful to check underlying details when using this article.

Why don’t foreign firms cooperate in US antidumping investigations? An empirical analysis

Foreign firms face punitive duties if they do not cooperate with the US Department of Commerce (DOC) in antidumping procedures. For example, 37% of all foreign firms involved in antidumping investigations in the US faced “facts available” margins for the 1995–2002 period, with average antidumping duties of 31% for cooperating foreign firms, compared to 87% for those who did not cooperate. The existing literature has focused on how DOC discretion has led to foreign firm non-cooperation. This paper instead examines individual foreign firm’s decisions about whether to cooperate during this same period. We find evidence that non-cooperation is consistent with a model of foreign firms rationally choosing not to cooperate, rather than solely as a result of investigating authority bias against imports.

Australian student reactions to US tourism advertising: A test of advertising as public diplomacy

A study among Australian college students gauged their reactions to a television commercial produced for the US Commerce Department to bolster sagging tourism numbers among international visitors. In addition to using traditional measures applied to tourism advertisements, the study also included items to measure attitudes toward the US government and its people. Pre- and post-viewing results indicated that although the Hollywood-movie-themed commercial was not well received by the Australian students as a tourism message, it did result in more favourable attitudes toward the US government, although not the US people. The findings lend partial support for the potential of tourism advertising efforts to exert a ‘bleed-over effect’ in terms of their contribution to overall attitudes toward a country, regardless of whether viewers plan to visit the country whose travel advertisements they see.

The North American Free Trade Agreement

Despite the emphasis that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama placed on the need to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during the Democratic Party primary debates in the USA i...

A One-Two Punch on Zeroing: US–Zeroing (EC) and US–Zeroing (Japan)

AbstractThis paper examines issues that came before the Appellate Body in two disputes, US–Zeroing (EC) and the US–Zeroing (Japan). The core issue in both the disputes involves the US Department of Commerce's practice of zeroing. The scope of the claims in both cases was considerably broader than in the previous WTO disputes involving zeroing. The two arguments in support of the practice were that (a) the practice of zeroing has been a standard administrative practice for many years and (b) the Antidumping Agreement does not clearly prohibit it and hence deference must be given to national authorities. While, the Appellate Body was arguably correct in prohibiting the use of zeroing under the main methods of Article 2.4.2 AD Agreement as well as in various reviews, we consider that it overreached in considering zeroing to be in violation of Article 2.4 AD Agreement and possibly as inconsistent with Article 2.4.2, exceptional method. Finally, while the AB found zeroing in reviews violated Article 2.4.2 AD Agreement, we believe it would have been preferable for the AB to have limited its findings of inconsistency to Article 9.3 AD Agreement.

Fixing the leaky pipe: increasing recruitment of underrepresented groups in ecology

I would describe my graduate career in ecol ogy as serendipitous. As a daughter of Latino parents who grew up in challenging environments with limited access to education, I was lucky to graduate from college, let alone pursue a PhD. I was also fortunate to meet a men tor who introduced me to ecology and graduate school. Unfortunately, many students from underrepresented groups lack adequate opportunities and mentorship as they head through the pipeline to graduate school. Despite the need for unique perspectives in collaborative scientific research, ethnic minority students continue to leak from the system. According to demographic projec tions, over 50% of the US population will be composed of individuals from underrepresented groups by the year 2050 (US Department of Commerce 1996). At present, how ever, these groups constitute only 6.5% of students enrolled in higher degree programs in ecology (NSF 2007). What can we do to remedy this? Exposure, oppor tunity, and access appear to be key. Here, I present some points for consideration for academic professionals (including educators, administrators, and program man agers), based on the first-hand experiences of successful minority scientists I have interviewed or who have pub lished on the subject. Introduce ecology early and supply access to research and career opportunities. It is important to publicize research, internship, and graduate program opportunities and pro vide financial support. The Ecological Society of America's (ESAs) Strategies for Ecology Education, Development, and Sustainability (SEEDS) program has effectively intro duced minority scientists to ecology by providing fellow ships and field trips, as well as travel awards to ESA's annual meetings (www.esa.org/seeds/). Create programs that facilitate the transition of minority students from one level of academia to the next. Summer courses, orientation programs, intemships, research experiences, and cultural events all teach stu dents about the academic and social expectations of uni versities. For example, the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland (UMD) has offered scholar ships, summer bridge programs, and intemships, as well as engaged students' families, and provided faculty and peer mentoring in an effort to recruit and retain minorities in science. As a result, minority participation in the sciences at UMD has increased 18%; in addition, UMD has recently introduced a graduate fellows program (Summers and Hrabowski 2006; WebTables 1 and 2). Build a sense of community through the creation of outreach

Acoustic pingers eliminate beaked whale bycatch in a gill net fishery

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the US Department of Commerce at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Ithas been accepted for inclusion in Publications, Agencies and Staff of the U.S. Department of Commerce by an authorized administrator ofDigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.

Corporate Governance and IT Governance: Exploring the Board's Perspective

Information technology (IT) exceeds half the capital spending of large organizations (US Commerce 2003) and should thus be a major concern of boards. How corporate governance extends into the domain of IT, becoming IT governance, is not widely researched. Concerns of board members on IT features little in the literature and board members' views are rarely obtained by academic researchers, partly due to the difficulty of obtaining access. We aim here to add to that literature. We describe an Australian study that explores IT governance issues from the board's perspective, a grounded theory approach, and examine some propositions drawn from the literature that does exist. The study used the topical issue of the risks of electronic commerce to stimulate the respondents. A questionnaire instrument was then developed and piloted. Methodological challenges are then discussed.

Balancing and Proportionality in US Commerce Clause Cases

The US dormant commerce clause doctrine allows for a true balancing test between legitimate state objectives and the burdens placed upon commerce.However, the doctrine relies strongly on ‘pre–screening’ facts to determine whether or not a law is discriminatory. The difference between a law that is de facto discriminatory and one which is ‘even handed’ but incidentally burdens commerce is a fine line, and it is not clear in the US practice that the courts have been able to give the doctrine a consistent effect over time.

National Technical Information Service

National Technical Information Service

A Valley of Death in the Innovation Sequence: An Economic Investigation

The United States Department of Commerce, Technology Administration provided support to the Phoenix Center to study the causes and potential solutions of the Valley of Death for technology development in the United States under Study Contract No. SB1341-05-2-0023 administered by KT Consulting, Inc. While several explanations for this Valley of Death have been proffered, this Paper takes a decidedly different approach to this issue. We focus our attention on the notion that the Valley of Death is, in fact, a valley in the innovation process - an image that implies that funding for RD in fact, there are important and valid reasons for government to support R&D activity. In some respects, the Valley of Death may be an inevitable consequence of socially-valuable government intervention. An important question is whether technology policymakers should devote some attention and resources to the study of the optimal mix of government support for early-stage and intermediate-stage R&D projects. In particular, it may be possible to increase economic welfare from government R&D efforts by increasing support for intermediate stage projects or by altering the allocation of a fixed level of support between early and intermediate stages of the innovation process. Even if the current mix of funding across the stages of the innovation process is deemed optimal, it is also sensible to evaluate ways to increase technology innovation by assisting private investors in seeing projects through intermediate stages of the innovation sequence, which will bring innovations closer to commercialization and diffusion.

The Zeroing Issue: a critical analysis of Softwood V

AbstractThis paper addresses the issues that came before the Appellate Body in the Softwood V dispute, concerning an affirmative antidumping determination by the US Department of Commerce. The paper addresses both the original Appellate Body opinion in the dispute, and the later opinion reviewing the compliance panel findings. We focus primarily on the ‘zeroing’ issue in ‘transaction-to-transaction (T–T)’ calculations of dumping, and briefly on two other cost-allocation issues. In general, we are ambivalent about the Appellate Body's approach to the zeroing issue. On the one hand, zeroing inflates dumping margins without any sound economic rationale for doing so. On the other hand, zeroing has been a standard administrative practice for many years and the ADA does not clearly prohibit it. The Appellate Body's legal analysis of the matter in T–T cases, in particular, rests on shaky premises. We also consider the wisdom of addressing the zeroing issue in piecemeal fashion through what has proven to be a lengthy sequence of narrow decisions.

Maximum Carbon Intensity Limitations and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade

Emission of greenhouse gases is a global problem. Any nation seeking to restrict such emissions by its manufacturers should avoid putting them at a disadvantage in world and domestic markets where they are likely to compete with producers that do not bear the cost of emission controls. One approach being considered in the United States would be adoption of technical regulations limiting the carbon intensity of basic products, such as cement, aluminum, steel, etc., offered for sale in the US market (carbon intensity would be defined as the C02 equivalent emissions per ton of product). Domestic and imported products that exceed the regulation limit could not be sold in US commerce, except pursuant to exceptions that would be available on a national treatment basis. Technical regulations would be based on the quantity of carbon equivalent gases emitted in the production of a unit of product, such as a ton of steel. The regulations would set a numerical limit on carbon intensity; would set discrete limits for different products and types of manufacture; would require auditable facility measurement but could allow compliance on an average company-wide basis; and would be tightened over time to encourage new technologies. However, there would be requirement for the adoption of specific technologies. The article will analyze the validity of such regulations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement).' The preamble to the TBT Agreement recognizes that no country should be prevented from taking measures necessary ... for the of human, animal or plant life or health, [or] of the ... at the levels it considers appropriate In addition, TBT Agreement Article 2.2 includes protection of human health or safety ... or the environment as legitimate objectives of technical regulations. The article will examine whether a maximum carbon emission limit would be a [t/echnical regulation' as defined by the TBT Agreement Annex i.i, taking into account the WTO Appellate Body statement that characteristics subject to regulation are not limited to qualities intrinsic to the product itself Consideration will also be given to the TBTAgreement requirement that technical regulations should not be applied so as to create unnecessary obstacles to trade. Finally, there will be an evaluation of the application of Article III of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)2 to measures that qualify as technical regulations.

Marine Aquaculture: Today's Necessity for Tomorrow's Seafood

Aquaculture is the fastest growing segment of the global food production sector, valued at $70.3 billion in 2004. In recent years, global capture fisheries have leveled off at around 95 mmt per year, with little or no prospect of increasing yields. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO) has concluded that increases in future seafood supplies must come from aquatic farming. The United States (U.S.) industry has been among the fastest growing agriculture sectors. Domestic seafood from capture and culture fisheries provides about 20% of annual consumption, the balance coming from imports. Future supply will come from either increasing imports or, preferably, expanding domestic aquaculture and fisheries sources. The greatest opportunity for domestic growth is marine aquaculture, particularly placement of large and small farms in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Additional benefits can accrue if large-scale marine hatchery technology is developed, so that fingerlings can be produced for wild stock enhancement and management. Currently, there is no permitting and leasing regime for ocean farming in the U.S. EEZ. In response to several national commissions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) is spearheading a bold effort to implement long-term marine aquaculture development objectives and create an EEZ permitting and leasing mechanism. Enabling legislation, entitled the National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007, is before Congress. Anchoring fish farms in the relatively shallow near shore and the EEZ is an exciting prospect for greater U.S. seafood self-sufficiency. However, there are many institutional, environmental and technical issues to resolve. More compelling is the prospect of developing new marine aquaculture technologies, e.g., single-point moorings, untethered cages, and integrated multi-trophic systems, to sustainably utilize the deep ocean beyond the EEZ. Successfully tackling this looming challenge will need the diverse expertise of the U.S. marine technology industry.

Performance of Differential Evolution Method in Least Squares Fitting of Some Typical Nonlinear Curves

No foolproof method exists to fit nonlinear curves to data or estimate the parameters of an intrinsically nonlinear function. Some methods succeed at solving a set of problems but fail at the others. The Differential Evolution (DE) method of global optimization is an upcoming method that has shown its power to solve difficult nonlinear optimization problems. In this study we use the DE to solve some nonlinear least squares problems given by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), US Department of Commerce, USA and some other challenge problems posed by the CPC-X Software (the makers of the AUTO2FIT software). The DE solves the test problems given by the NIST and most of the challenge problems posed by the CPC-X, doing marginally better than the AUTO2FIT software in a few cases.

Developing a Virtual Community to Prevent Teen Substance Abuse: Lessons Learned

ABSTRACT SubstanceAbusePrevention.org, a virtual Community, is a 3.5-year project initially funded by the US Department of Commerce, Technology Opportunity Program. Its purpose was “to determine what proven components of substance abuse prevention in ‘real’ communities can be effectively transferred into ‘virtual’ communities.” Teens in drug treatment helped university researchers translate resiliency-based prevention practices into a Web site that would appeal to their peers. The 24 strategies tested fall in the categories of prevention exercises, games, multimedia, and information. This article describes the development process along with the lessons learned and future directions. The information is useful for those wanting to design and develop interactive Websites that address human service problems.

MBNQA criteria in education: assigning weights from a Malaysian perspective and proposition for an alternative evaluation scheme

AbstractIn order to improve quality and productivity among American companies, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) was launched by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the US Department of Commerce in 1987. Over the years, the award has proved to be effective in improving companies' market share, customer satisfaction, employee morale, and also profitability. MBNQA has been a ‘role model’ in developing a national quality award for many other countries in the world. Furthermore, for organizational self‐assessment, the criteria framework of MBNQA has been in use throughout the world. Presently, the award is offered in three categories: Business, Education, and Health care. The present paper is concerned with MBNQA in Education. NIST has developed a comprehensive set of criteria to be fulfilled in order to be eligible to win the award. However, in the existing literature, it is not clear how the weights are assigned to the criteria and subcriteria. The present paper uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to reassign criteria weights from a Malaysian perspective. Furthermore, the paper points out the fallacy of the present evaluation scheme and proposes an alternative one based upon the absolute measurement procedure of AHP. The modified scheme is expected to enhance the fairness of the evaluation of the award aspirants. The paper also shares the experiences gathered in data collection using AHP.

Could biomass fuels ever replace crude

An important objective of President Bushs energy policy is to cut US reliance on imported crude oil. The policy calls for research to reduce the costs of alternative fuels. In June 2006, the US Department of Commerce commissioned Monash Universitys Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS) to estimate the effects on the US economy of a successful research program that allows substantial replacement of imported crude oil with domestically produced biomass fuels such as ethanol. Peter Dixon and Maureen Rimmer from CoPS joined Stefan Osborne from the US Department of Commerce to illuminate the benefits. Copyright 2007 Peter Dixon, Maureen Rimmer and Stefan Osborne. No part of this article may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

Could biomass fuels ever replace crude?

An important objective of President Bushs energy policy is to cut US reliance on imported crude oil. The policy calls for research to reduce the costs of alternative fuels. In June 2006, the US Department of Commerce commissioned Monash Universitys Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS) to estimate the effects on the US economy of a successful research program that allows substantial replacement of imported crude oil with domestically produced biomass fuels such as ethanol. Peter Dixon and Maureen Rimmer from CoPS joined Stefan Osborne from the US Department of Commerce to illuminate the benefits. Copyright 2007 Peter Dixon, Maureen Rimmer and Stefan Osborne. No part of this article may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publisher.