An evaluation of the role played by remote sensing technology following the World Trade Center attack

Remote sensing technology has been widely recognized for contributing to emergency response efforts after the World Trade Center attack on September 11th, 2001. The need to coordinate activities in the midst of a dense, yet relatively small area, made the combination of imagery and mapped data strategically useful. This paper reviews the role played by aerial photography, satellite imagery, and LIDAR data at Ground Zero. It examines how emergency managers utilized these datasets, and identifies significant problems that were encountered. It goes on to explore additional ways in which imagery could have been used, while presenting recommendations for more effective use in future disasters and Homeland Security applications. To plan adequately for future events, it was important to capture knowledge from individuals who responded to the World Trade Center attack. In recognition, interviews with key emergency management and geographic information system (GIS) personnel provide the basis of this paper. Successful techniques should not be forgotten, or serious problems dismissed. Although widely used after September 11th, it is important to recognize that with better planning, remote sensing and GIS could have played an even greater role. Together with a data acquisition timeline, an expanded discussion of these issues is available in the MCEER/NSF report “Emergency Response in the Wake of the World Trade Center Attack; The Remote Sensing Perspective” (Huyck and Adams, 2002) Keywords World Trade Center (WTC) - terrorism - emergency response - emergency management - ground zero - remote sensing - emergency operations - disasters - geographic information systems (GIS) - satellite imagery - synthetic aperture radar (SAR) - light detection and ranging imagery (LIDAR)

The Impact of the World Trade Organization （WTO） Regime on Foreign Direct Investment （FDI） Flows to Vietnam： A Gravity Model Approach

Foreign direct investment （FDI） has taken an important role in Vietnam＇s development process since the launch of Renovation in 1986. After Vietnam＇s accession to the World Trade Organization （WTO）, a large amount of FDI capital flowed into the country, up to 143,950.3 million USD. Wherein, there was a switching of FDI capital from the manufacturing sector to the service one in tandem with a downward trend in the agriculture. Like the previous duration, Vietnam＇s FDI capital sources came mostly from Asia-Pacific region and European economies （net capital, technology exporters） probably caused by Vietnam＇s integration emphases on dynamic Asia-Pacific region. Geographical location of FDI was characterized by a concentration on the three main key economic regions： the Red River Delta （surrounding Ha Noi, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh）, the Central region （surrounding Da Nang）, and the Southeast of the country （surrounding Ho Chi Minh City） owing to good infrastructure, abundance of skillful labor force, and large market size. By constructing a gravity model, using descriptive, quantitative methods and applying them to recent data set by Vietnam＇s authorities and the international organizations during the period from 1995 to 2011 of 18 Vietnam＇s major country partners, the author finds evidence broadly consistent with the prediction that the WTO has had a positive impact on FDI flows to Vietnam.

Chinese Licensing Trade Going to the World

In late spring this year, Ren Jianxin, President of the Supreme People’s Court in China. welcomed the convening of the 1994 international meeting of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) held in Beijing. It was sponsored by the China Licensing Executives Society and was attended by 400 lawyers and academics from over 30 countries including the USA, Britain, France, Japan, Germany and South Korea. Science and technology is

Foreign Trade Shortens the Distance between an Enterprise and the World

The Tongling Non-ferrous Metals(Group) company was known forproducing the first copper ingot afterthe founding of new China.Through 44years and generations of exploration, thecompany has now become a large nationalconglomerate of more than 30 units, includingsix mines, two smelting plants and threecopper processing factories, coordinated withmining, dressing, smelting and deepprocessing, with its products reaching 150varieties. The Jinlong Copper Co. Ltd.,jointly invested by this company and Japan’sSumitomo co., is the largest Sino-Foreignjoint venture in Anhui Province and theChina National Non-ferrous Metals IndustryCorporation, and is planned to go into operationin 1996. By then, the Tongling Non-ferrousMetals (Group) Company will be highlightedin China’s copper industry. In June 1993, the Ministry of ForeignTrade and Economic Cooperation authorizedthe company with the right of import andexport operation. In October the same year,the company established its own foreigntrade institution--the Tongling Non-ferrousMetals Import and Export Company,

A Bigger Role in World Trade

China helps make global trade fairer and more beneficial to less developed countries WITH the rise of emerging countries represented by China and some other countries,the current international trade system is embracing a reform. A prominent feature of this reform is the participation of an increasing number of countries and regions.

Mould Brand with its Characteristics——-An Interview towards Liu Wenkui, President of Tianjin World Economy Trade & Exhibition Center(Group)Co.,Ltd

Reporter: Would you please tell us about business of Tianjin International Exhibition Center? Liu:Tianjin exhibition industry has developed well in 2004, 122 exhibitions have been held in our international center this year, with salable area of 2635000 sqm. Reporter: What about characteristics of

No country is an island in regulating food safety:How the WTO monitors Chinese food safety laws through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism(TPRM)

Established within the framework of the World Trade Organization （WTO）, the Trade Policy Review Mechanism （TPRM） reviews periodically the trade policies of all WTO Members. The review includes many aspects of food safety regulation. China＇s trade policy is reviewed every two years. This paper analyses in detail the reviews of China＇s trade policy in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. It focuses in particular on food safety laws and types of standards, alignment of domestic standards with international standards, the role of different domestic institutions, transparency and notification of food safety measures under the WTO agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures （SPS） and on Technical Barriers to Trade （TBTAgreement）, import and export, and geographical indications （GIs）. It concludes that the WTO TPRM can contribute, within its mandate, to reform of Chinese food safety laws and improvement of food safety in China. it notes that China has already undertaken substantial reforms of its system for regulating food safety. It recommends that China should continue to participate actively in the TPRM, follow its own path with regard to alignment and learn selectively from other WTO Members.

Aspects of International Public Procurement Regulation

The public procurement market is classified as one of the most important segments of the world economy with share of 7-18%in the world GDP.The importance of this segment leads to continuous liberalization.Despite the existing legislative framework,the share of cross-border public procurement remains limited due to several obstacles including discrimination in public procurement that was raised by governments as one of the non-tariff barriers to international trade.Surveys of the European Commission or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD)indicate that there are many other obstacles to entry to international public procurement markets.These obstacles are discussed in the first chapter of this article.The goal of this paper is to review aspects of international public procurement regulation and find ways of eliminating the obstacles through this regulation.Therefore,the second,third,and fourth chapters of the paper analyse the WTO Government Procurement Agreement(GPA),the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law(UNCITRAL)Model Law on Public Procurement,and the role of regional trade agreements.

Trade Development and Global Crisis Influence

The purpose of this paper is to create a comprehensive analysis of the development of foreign trade in the global world, the process of divergence of exports and imports under the influence political and economic changes in Europe and the economic crisis in the world. Data from world public databases are summarized to a clear and understandable form. We analyzed the share of imports and exports （due to the global trade is presented） and its potential impact on the development of current account balance （CAB） for the United States of America （USA）, the European Union （EU）, and China. Correlation coefficient timeline for the last decade of CAB and world trade is also presented to show the influence of trade flow in the world and the EU with respect to current account. The work emphasizes the clear and understandable processing of the required data, which are then formulated to make arguments and then used to make predictions of further development of world trade. From summarized data, future crisis can be predicted and impacts can be evaluated.

Impact of Chinese Characteristics on the World Trade Organization： Challenges and Strategies

Following China＇s accession to the World Trade Organization （WTO）, it has been impossible to overlook the influence of its economy on the multilateral trading system. Many published studies have examined why China joined the WTO and the comprehensive impacts of WTO membership on China, but few studies have focused on China＇s impact on the WTO. This article attempts to fill this gap by examining China＇s changing role in the multilateral trading system from political and legal perspectives, seeking to shed light on how Chinese characteristics have reshaped the power structure and rule-based system of the WTO. While its accession has made the WTO more relevant in regards to global trade governance, China has been accused of upsetting the WTO＇s rules-based system because of its unique political and economic regime. The WTO and its members should take the Chinese characteristics into consideration and regulate China＇s practices through using the dispute settlement mechanism, promoting China＇s accession to plurilateral agreements and adopting a ＂＇soft law ＂＂ approach.

North American Free Trade Area and World Economic Regional Integration

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SYMMETRY IN WORLD TRADE NETWORK

ymmetry of the world trade network provides a novel perspective to understand the world-wide trading system. However, symmetry in the world trade network （WTN） has been rarely studied so far. In this paper, the authors systematically explore the symmetry in WTN. The authors construct WTN in 2005 and explore the size and structure of its automorphism group, through which the authors find that WTN is symmetric, particularly, locally symmetric to a certain degree. Furthermore, the authors work out the symmetric motifs of WTN and investigate the structure and function of the symmetric motifs, coming to the conclusion that local symmetry will have great effect on the stability of the WTN and that continuous symmetry-breakings will generate complexity and diversity of the trade network. Finally, utilizing the local symmetry of the network, the authors work out the quotient of WTN, which is the structural skeleton dominating stability and evolution of WTN.

Shanghai, World Financial and Trade Center

With its ideal location and history of international finance and trade, the bustling port of Shanghai continues to offer a good climate for investors from around the world.

International Trade Norms in the Age of Covid-19 Nationalism on the Rise?

Simultaneous with the rise of trade protectionism in the twenty-first century has been a resurgence in nationalist politics,most notably in the USA,the UK,and parts of the EU.These developments in international and US trade policy,including Washington’s launch of a full-fledged trade war against China in March 2018,have converged disastrously with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in November 2019 and the onset of a worldwide pandemic.Given the status of the USA as the world’s hegemon since 1945,what is new here is the effort of the Trump administration to abdicate US leadership,-jettison longstanding alliances,and turn back the clock on the country’s close integration with the world economy.Already,greatly reduced flows of goods,services,and people have translated into radically reduced global growth,widespread business disruptions,and high unemployment.Remarkably,the White House has refused to recognize the severity of the pandemic and has undermined the precautions of the US science community.We argue that these multiple shocks constitute a major critical juncture on par with what the world community faced in 1945.However,in the twenty-first century we have seen that high levels of economic uncertainty and political instability have superseded the long-held notion that international interdependence would pull the world community through tough times such as these.Could the triple whammy of a destructive trade war,deadly pandemic,and secular decfine of US leadership trigger a new generation of policy innovation and institution building on par with the post-1945 era?In terms of the global trade regime,it would be difficult to imagine a buoyant recovery of the world economy in the absence of a serious reckoning with the pattern of norm erosion that we identify here.

The Governance of Cross-Border Data Flows in Trade Agreements:Is the CPTPP Framework an Ideal Way Out?

The regulations of cross-border data flows is a growing challenge for the international community.International trade agreements,however,appear to be pioneering legal methods to cope,as they have grappled with this issue since the 1990s.The World Trade Organization(WTO)rules system offers a partial solution under the General Agreement on Trade in Services(GATS),which covers aspects related to cross-border data flows.The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP)and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement(USMCA)have also been perceived to provide forward-looking resolutions.In this context,this article analyzes why a resolution to this issue may be illusory.While they regulate cross-border data flows in various ways,the structure and wording of exception articles of both the CPTPP and USMCA have the potential to pose significant challenges to the international legal system.The new system,attempting to weigh societal values and economic development,is imbalanced,often valuing free trade more than individual online privacy and cybersecurity.Furthermore,the inclusion of poison-pill clauses is,by nature,antithetical to cooperation.Thus,for the international community generally,and China in particular,cross-border data flows would best be regulated under the WTO-centered multilateral trade law system.

Implications of the Interaction of Trade and Tax Rules(Part One)

Trade,investment and tax treaties are concluded for different reasons and with different objectives.The international trade and tax systems are overseen by different global organizations.The overlaps and inconsistencies between these agreements could be exploited by investors to gain unintended advantages.Therefore,developing countries must ensure that there is greater cooperation and exchange of information in relation to trade,investment and tax policy.The exchange of information between tax administrations is important in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI),where the tax administration in each jurisdiction needs to know more about the cross-border transactions of multinationals operating in its territory.The most effective way for developing countries to improve the exchange of information is to sign multilateral agreements,in particular the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters.The customs and transfer pricing functions within a jurisdiction should collaborate and exchange information to ensure that the pricing of import transactions is consistent across different taxes.Both functions could carry out risk-based compliance audits that would involve comparison of transfer pricing and customs documentation.In the context of coordination between customs and direct tax functions,the comparison of customs and transfer pricing documentation can be established on a routine basis.Closer coordination of transfer pricing and customs would also help taxpayers reduce compliance costs in relation to cross-border transactions.In view of the compliance costs involved in putting together transfer pricing documentation,it would help taxpayers if much of the same documentation could also be used for the purposes of customs valuation.