It's the best of times to take your business global. It's the worst of times to take your business global. With apologies to Charles Dickens, we are living in roilingly uncertain times when it comes to global trade, driving both risks and opportunities as high as they've ever been.

The Obama administration has used a flurry of tough-sounding trade enforcement announcements in recent weeks to counter complaints from the left and right that free trade is not fair trade - and to assist President Obama in the struggle to win approval of his trade pact with 11 Pacific Rim nations.

It's called the multiplier effect, and it describes how the recall of a single ingredient in the food supply chain can have a huge impact on manufacturers, retailers and brands - not to mention the health and safety of consumers.

Companies have a pretty good grip on the movement of physical goods in their supply chains. But they often overlook the accompanying flow of funds - and the opportunity to make better use of limited working capital.

Recent months have seen major car recalls by GM and Ford Motor Co. They're just the latest in a seemingly endless series of failures. Can this trend be stopped?

When you buy an "American-made" car, you are probably buying a car that has an immensely complicated mix of components that were also made in Mexico and Canada. The same is true for many electronics, and advanced textiles like carpeting. The beef in your grocery store might be from a cow that was fattened and slaughtered in the United States, but that was very likely born across the border in Mexico.