China’s Free Trade Mecca

 

With its beaches, duty-free shopping and booming real estate, could the tropical island of Hainan become China’s new Hong Kong?

Hainan – a tropical island in the country’s south, known as the “Hawaii of China” – is a playground for the rich and a sought-after destination for retirees.

Once dominated by sleepy fishing villages, it’s undergoing a rapid transformation, with new marinas for luxury yachts, five-star resorts and duty-free shopping.

The deceptive promise of free trade | DW Documentary

When it comes to global trade, it would seem that trickery, threats and deception are the order of the day - yet all this takes place largely beyond the reach of the public eye. Donald Trump has made "America First” his agenda and rallying cry. Along with aiming sharp criticism at global export champion Germany, Trump has also introduced punitive tariffs and warned of further measures. Will this fresh wave of protectionism lead to economic isolationism and threaten global free trade? And what about those for whom free trade’s promise of prosperity increasingly rings hollow? Around the world, many people have come to regard themselves as the losers of globalization. If the true winners of free trade and globalization are not ordinary citizens, has the time come to revise the liberal orthodoxy of free trade? This documentary visits Germany, Switzerland, the United States and Cameroon to explore these issues by way of some everyday examples, including the trade in onions, floor tiles, and bicycles.

NAFTA, explained with a toy car

When the North American Free Trade Agreement began in 1994, auto companies in the US, Canada and Mexico could trade parts and cars without paying tariffs. And they could source parts and labor from the cheapest places. That is a big reason why US car prices have only risen seven percent in 25 years. But the proposed US Mexico Canada Agreement -- or USMCA for short -- could change that; President Trump’s new deal would increase the regulations that car manufacturers need to meet in order to sell tariff-free cars.