Emerging Markets Face 'Import Lite' Trap

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS COLUMNIST, ANDY MUKHERJEE, SAYING: "The cheerful consensus for the global economy for 2014 has got a jolt. The loss of investor appetite among investors for risky emerging market assets and currencies that we have seen since the Argentine peso devaluation has certainly called into question the consensus view on the global economy's prospects for this year. Well what's going wrong? Attention is focused on the Fed's trimming of its bond-buying program and on slowing demand in China. But there is another risk for emerging markets that merits a close, hard look: the 'import-lite' recovery in advanced nations. "What do I mean by an 'import-lite' recovery? It's the kind of recovery which is not leading to a jump in imports of the kind that we used to see before the financial crisis. Now this is a big worry for emerging markets which need to...