US Creating Serious Threat to Multilateral Free Trade System - China

The United States and China imposed new tariffs on each other's goods on Monday, as the world's two biggest economies showed no sign of backing down from an escalating trade dispute that has left global financial markets in disarray.

China's state council published a white paper on its ongoing bilateral trade disputes with the United States at 1 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT), Xinhua News Agency reported.

"The US shamelessly began to preach unilateralism, protectionism and economic hegemony, and also began to make false accusations against many countries and regions, in particular, China, intimidating other states through economic measures such as the imposition of duties and undertaking attempts to impose its own interests on Beijing by exerting extremely strong pressure," the document said.

Washington has imposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing has responded with retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion in US imports.

"As a result, trade and economic tensions between the two sides have escalated in a short period of time, which has seriously damaged the trade and economic relations which were developed over the years through the joint work of the governments and peoples of the two countries. This has created a serious threat to the multilateral trading system and the principles of free trade," Beijing's white paper said.

The trade war between China and the United States began on July 6, when the reciprocal customs duties between these states entered into force.

The US imposed a 25% duty on the import of 818 items from China, which account for $34 billion a year in exports to the US.

As a countermeasure, China imposed a 25% duty on an equal volume of American imports on the same day.

In August, the US imposed a 25% duty on $16 billion worth of Chinese goods. Immediately afterwards, Beijing introduced similar measures.

The discontent of the United States is caused by the trade imbalance between the two countries; according to Washington, the US imported $500 bln in Chinese goods last year, versus $130 bln in exports to the country.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201809241068275865-us-china-trade-system/

Don't Share This! EU's New Copyright Law Could Kill The Free Internet

It's basically a battle between billionaires Axel Springer SE and Google. But it is ordinary internet users who will fall victim to the EU's new copyright law, which urgently needs modification.

It's good to share. But the European Parliament clearly doesn't think so. Its new copyright legislation, passed last week, clamps down quite severely on sharing things online. The dynamism of the internet is at threat. When Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, warns us of the dangers the new law poses, we should all sit up straight and pay attention.

For a start, the legislation shifts the responsibility for the uploading of copyright material to the internet platforms themselves. Beforehand it was the job of the companies who thought their copyright was infringed to do this. Many don't bother, and are happy to see their material uploaded to sites like YouTube as they know it promotes an artist's work and boosts sales. But all that is likely to change.

Under Article 13, platforms would have to install “upload filters”.YouTube could be shorn of much of its content. Big sites would probably survive but, as ZDNet warns here, smaller sites could easily be put out of business by “copyright trolls”.

Not that there's anything wrong of course, with sensible protection of copyright. As a prolific five-articles-a-week writer and author I can't tell you how frustrated and angry I feel when I see my work “pirated”by a commercial website which hasn't even asked my permission to reprint it, let alone offer me payment. Copyright law needs reform for the digital age. There needs to be an easy way for creators of content to receive payment from those who have stolen their work. The trouble is, the EU has used a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Look at the way the ability to link to, and quote from, other work without payment, is threatened by the directive.

Sites like RT's ‘Op-ed’ section, which you are reading now, would be adversely affected and may be even put out of action. One of the advantages of writing an article for an online site over print is that links to articles mentioned can easily be inserted. This enables the reader to see for him/herself the original source. But Article 11 of the Directive raises fears that payment may, in certain circumstances, have to be paid to sites which are linked to. Being able to quote freely from other articles, so long as they are credited, is surely a good thing. It's essential for instance when you are writing a piece dissecting another. But under the new legislation all but the very briefest quotes may have to be paid for. Think how much that would restrict quality journalism and hinder the free exchange of knowledge.

Then there's the threat to memes, one of the most entertaining aspects of online life. It's true that memes are often based on material which technically is copyrighted. But isn't legislating against them taking it all too far? Article 13 states that “online content sharing service providers and right holders shall cooperate in good faith in order to ensure that unauthorised protected works or other subject matter are not available on their services.” That could mean you tweeting a GIF of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho showing great disinterest in a topic could fall 'foul' of the law.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-23/dont-share-eus-new-copyright-law-could-kill-free-internet

>>3162420

US has a deep state problem

UK has a deep state problem

China has a deep state problem

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Expand your thinking!

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