OK, on to some substance this morning. The Australian has another great article from Rowan Callick, this one on the negotiations between China and Australia on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Several general items of interests.

First, with the Doha Debacle (that's what I'm going to call it from now on) behind us, many are wondering what will happen next with international trade liberalization. The most common opinion is that we will continue to see overlapping FTAs and Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) between ever-widening groups of countries, the famous "spaghetti bowl" of agreements. Who came up with that phrase, anyway? Bhagwati? Fred Bergsten? The point is that you might see a lot more of these stories in the future.

Second, this article has a really cool quote from Australia's Agricultural Minister, slapping down everyone's (justifiably) favorite example of farm supports, U.S. sugar:

"I believe the single most important thing any of us can do for Australian farming, if there is one wish for it above all else, it is an FTA with China. I haven't come away with the impression, as with the US with sugar", that any particular commodity would present a problem, Mr McGauran said in Xian.

Third, China's view of continued liberalization. This is somewhat of a hot issue these days with some in Beijing sounding a little protectionist in recent months. (I am exploring this issue in an article that I am working on about the banking sector, so more on that to come.) Nice quote from the Chinese Vice-Minister of Agriculture:

Mr Fan warned of "the need to prevent damage to Chinese interests due to excessive liberalisation", and of the importance of food security, poverty alleviation, and preventing unemployment.

Nothing new about these concerns, but the words "excessive liberalization" are striking fear in a lot of boardrooms in New York and London these days. As my article will point out, I think this fear is unfounded. Stay tuned for that argument in a few days.