TPT May 2009

From the AmericaS

Coming to Tube & Pipe Technology in July: ‘Global Marketplace’ Beginning with the next issue of Tube & Pipe Technology , ‘From the Americas’ will have a new name and a new, broader field of interest. In acknowledgment of the wider perspective that has, in fact, informed this column for a while now, it is to become ‘Global Marketplace’ . Tube & Pipe Technology has readers in over 100 countries of the world. Acknowledgment of the concerns of that extended public is essential for intelligent analysis of the crucial issues facing our global industry in exceptionally challenging times. This will be the third re-naming since the inauguration of ‘A steel view of America’ , some 18 years ago, by Intras founder John C Hogg. At intervals, his insistence on topicality widened the coverage: first, from steel to the USA at large; then, from heavy metals to the surrounding industrial sector; still later, to the entire matrix, not excluding the political, within which tube and pipe makers conduct business. At the most recent re-branding, as ‘From the Americas’ , Mr Hogg had only one instruction for the proprietor of the column. It was characteristically brief: “Don’t let the USA be the whole show.” Even with the most diligent monitoring of the news from Hudson Bay to Tierra del Fuego, compliance with this directive was not so easy. The US generated most of the copy; resistance was futile. But Mr Hogg, whose singular gift was to recognize trends before they became shifts, was ahead of his time. Now, of course, the USA is not “the whole show.” As this is being written, President Barack Obama is preparing to leave Washington for London and the ‘crisis summit’ of the Group of 20 major economies. While there is nothing new about such gatherings on Olympus, there is something very new about the preparations for it made by this president. Since he took office on 20 January, he has been calling world leaders almost daily. He discussed his trip and the global economic crisis with British, French, and German leaders, among others. The White House has promised a series of one-on-one conversations with the leaders of Turkey, Spain, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China, India, and Britain. In Istanbul, he is expected to hold a global, video-based town hall meeting that will allow students from across Europe and Asia to ask questions. Developing nations will be exerting greater influence from now on, not least on the Washington-based International Monetary Fund. For the first time, emerging giants China, Brazil, Russia, India, and Mexico are believed to be planning major financial contributions, which would grant them more of a voice in how the IMF conducts global economic affairs. China is poised to produce the biggest gift, pledging an estimated $50 billion. That will buy a very big megaphone indeed. In his call for a new approach to reviving the global economy through government spending, tougher regulation of financial institutions, and an embrace of free trade, Mr Obama will be one among many leaders of a changed world – and he knows it. The latest re-naming and reorientation of ‘From the Americas’ reflects this global awareness.

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M ay 2009

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