Protection....Does it work?

China rejected a $2.4 billion bid by Coca-Cola Co. for one of the country's largest juice makers -- dealing a blow to Chief Executive Muhtar Kent's campaign to accelerate his company's push beyond soda in a critical market. The Commerce Ministry's finding, that the purchase could crowd out smaller companies and raise consumer prices, also risks having a chilling effect on foreigners looking to make other deals in China, lawyers and investment bankers said. Coke's attempt to buy China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd. was part of Mr. Kent's broader strategy to push more aggressively into the fruit-juice business globally. Coke had been trying to parlay its high-profile sponsorship of the Beijing Olympics last summer into greater commercial success as U.S. sales slow. China is Coke's fourth-largest market by volume, after the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. Mr. Kent, who became CEO in July, had a lot riding on the deal and now must find another way to grab a larger share of the fast-growing Chinese juice business. Juice sales in China rose 89% by volume from 2004 through last year, while soda sales rose 42%, according to research firm Euromonitor International.

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From WSJ - Mexico Issues Tariff List in U.S. Trucking Dispute : Mexico detailed its new tariffs on U.S.-made goods, roughly 90 products ranging from food staples such as potatoes and apricots to an eclectic mix including deodorant and Christmas trees.

Some of the U.S. Products to Face Import Tariffs Into Mexico

Christmas trees	20%
Onions	10%
Peeled onions	20%
Pears	20%
Cherries	20%
Potatoes	20%
Soy sauce	20%
Soup, broth and stew mixes, and prepared stew, broth and soups	10%
Mineral water	20%
Sunflower seeds	15%
Products for manicures and pedicures	15%
Shampoo	15%
Toothpaste	15%
Deodorants and anti-perspirants	15%
Statuettes and other decorative articles	20%
Notebooks	10%
Curtain rods	20%
Coffee makers	20%
Waste from batteries, rechargeable batteries, chargers	20%
Sunglasses	15%

The specific goods, a combined $2.4 billion in exports to Mexico in 2007, mostly face import duties of 10% to 20% of their value. Fresh grapes will face a 45% tariff, by far the highest. Mexico said Monday it will levy the tariffs in retaliation for the recent shutdown by Congress of a pilot program that allowed some Mexican truckers to operate on U.S. highways. Mexico might increase the number of products it has slapped tariffs on if this first retaliatory round doesn't produce results, Beatriz Leycegui, deputy minister for foreign commerce, said Wednesday.