International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde's message to G20 leaders: fix trade or see growth and jobs suffer. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde's message to G20 leaders: fix trade or see growth and jobs suffer. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde's message to G20 leaders: fix trade or see growth and jobs suffer. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde's message to G20 leaders: fix trade or see growth and jobs suffer. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP

Growth and jobs suffer when nations refuse to stick to trade rules


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It has been nearly eight decades since the US president Franklin Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill drew up the Atlantic Charter as a way of preventing retaliatory trade tariffs and securing economic security and prosperity for their nations. That, in turn, paved the way for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed by 23 nations in Geneva in October 1947 to kickstart a battered post-war global economy. As “the most comprehensive, significant and far-reaching negotiations ever undertaken in the history of world trade”, it provided a multilateral economic framework for the first time, and a new world order. Although it morphed into the World Trade Organisation in 1995, the principle of unrestricted trade enshrined in GATT remained at the heart of the WTO’s mission to oil the wheels of global commerce.

Now the flouting of the organisation's rules by the US is threatening to undermine an agreement that for more than 70 years has helped protect and generate jobs, growth and development around the world. The closing statement by world leaders at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires points the finger squarely, if not entirely fairly, at the WTO. It is, they suggest, "falling short of its objectives" and must be reformed. But some blame can be apportioned elsewhere. One of the WTO's members is the US under Donald Trump and the tacit acknowledgment of his role in unravelling the world order is almost certainly embedded in the statement: "We also note current trade issues". This was G20 code for the trade war between the US and China which, if allowed to escalate, will have catastrophic consequences for the entire world.

Certainly, the WTO is in need of reform but it will have little impact if nations refuse to abide by its rules. It fell to Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, to speak truth to power in Argentina. Her message was not for the WTO but for the world's leaders: fix trade, or see growth and jobs suffer. Mr Trump has announced that he is putting on hold for 90 days his controversial plan to impose another round of tariffs on Chinese goods to allow time for negotiations. This is a welcome move but a temporary solution to a problem entirely of his own making. As with his threatened withdrawal from the WTO, the real purpose of the trade dispute with China is to feed a domestic narrative that suggests the world is taking advantage of the US.

Mr Trump has dismissed the WTO as “the single worst trade deal ever made”. Yet he must realise what was clear to his predecessors: that when the world’s biggest economy starts shredding the terms of agreement of international institutions, every country is poorer as a result, including his own. With so much at stake, it is essential that everyone plays by the rules.

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

 

Qosty Byogaani

Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny

Four stars

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Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

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Quick%20facts
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ASHES SCHEDULE

First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)

Poacher
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Fixtures:

Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm

Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm

Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm

MEYDAN%20RACECARD
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Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)

Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)

Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four

Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 

Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)

Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)

Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 28: Final (Dubai)

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

Squads

Australia: Finch (c), Agar, Behrendorff, Carey, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, McDermott, Maxwell, Short, Stanlake, Stoinis, Tye, Zampa

India: Kohli (c), Khaleel, Bumrah, Chahal, Dhawan, Shreyas, Karthik, Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar, Pandey, Krunal, Pant, Rahul, Sundar, Umesh

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA