Saturday, April 26

Global Trade

9Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Economics, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Global Economy Faces ‘Sharply Negative’ Outlook for 2020; Partial Recovery Possible for 2021

April 9, 2020-Despite fiscal stimulus of $8 trillion by governments around the world, the global economy may turn "sharply negative" this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund. Meanwhile, experts predict massive declines in global trade and employment. "Today we are confronted with a crisis like no other," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday. "Covid-19 has disrupted our social and economic order at lightning speed and on a scale that we have not seen in living memory." The outlook is bleak for both advanced and developing economies. The IMF projects negative per capita income growth in over 170 countries this year and only a partial recovery under baseline assumptions for 2021. Georgieva emphasized that 2020 wil...
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Instability in Key Trade Route ‘Jeopardizes Trade and Energy Supplies’
22Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Instability in Key Trade Route ‘Jeopardizes Trade and Energy Supplies’

January 22, 2020-In a sign of the escalating tensions between the West and Iran, more countries are expressing support for the international coalition protecting shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. South Korea is the latest to announce a plan to send a naval destroyer to the strait. On Tuesday, the government said it is sending an independent and temporary mission to "guarantee the safety of our people and the freedom of navigation of our vessels,” according to a news report in Stars and Stripes. Iran had previously warned South Korea against joining a US-led coalition. New European Naval Mission On Monday, the governments of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal released a joint statement warning that rising instability in the ...
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16Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief, United States

Congress Clears US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal

January 16, 2020-It's a big week for trade. A day after the United States and China agreed to a phase one of a trade deal, the U.S. Senate approved a trade agreement that replaces NAFTA. Only nine senators voted against it while 89 voted for it. Since the House has previously passed it with a bipartisan 385-41 vote, the agreement is cleared for the White House. The deal, the USMCA, is a massive three-way agreement that covers goods worth about $1.3 trillion. Leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States signed the deal in late 2018. Mexico's Senate voted for the agreement on June 20, 2019 and a revised treaty on Dec. 12, 2019. It's up to the Mexican president to ratify it. Canada is expected to consider implementing legislation when the new Parliament begins its session. For...
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8Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade

Senate Panel OKs North American Trade Deal

January 8, 2020-The Senate Finance Committee gave its mark of approval yesterday to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which the three countries' leaders agreed to a year ago. If ratified by legislatures in all three countries, the USMCA would replace NAFTA. "USMCA will bring much needed certainty, and real benefits to America’s farmers, workers, and businesses," Senator Charles Grassley said. Senator Wyden praised the new enforcement mechanisms. Democrats worked with President Trump to include financial assistance through the Labor Department to help improve labor standards in Mexico and strengthen U.S. capacity to identify when Mexican factories violate labor standards. "So when you combine this all-in approach on enforcement with new commitments on labor rights and ...
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NAFTA Replacement to Move Forward in U.S. Congress
10Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief, United States

NAFTA Replacement to Move Forward in U.S. Congress

December 10, 2019-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow House Democrats announced support for the U.S. -Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement today. Pelosi said the trade agreement is better than NAFTA and "infinitely better" than what President Donald Trump had initially proposed. "It's a victory for America's workers and one we take great pride in advancing." It's been a year since the leaders of Canada, the United States and Mexico signed the trade agreement. The deal covers agriculture, intellectual property, digital trade and financial services. The legislatures in all three countries need to ratify the deal before it takes effect. Democrats said the key to winning their support was working out enforcement mechanisms, particularly in the areas of labor and environment.
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South Korea Opts Out of Special Trade Status for Developing Countries
28Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Global Trade, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

South Korea Opts Out of Special Trade Status for Developing Countries

October 28, 2019-South Korea plans to give up a special status in the World Trade Organization. The status gives developing countries longer time periods to implement trade agreements and the ability to increase trade opportunities. South Korea Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the announcement late last week, saying it reflects his country's growing economy and external pressures. South Korea's economy is worth $1.5 trillion and is the 11th largest economy in the world. In July, U.S. President Donald Trump called on strong economies such as China to shed the special status. His July memorandum makes specific recommendations regarding the treatment of countries that he says should no longer be treated as developing economies. Singapore, Brazil, the UAE and Taiwan have also pledged...
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Russia Signs Arms, Energy Deals with African Countries
24Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Diplomacy, Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Geopolitics, Global Trade

Russia Signs Arms, Energy Deals with African Countries

October 24, 2019—In the first-ever Russia-African Summit being held this week in Sochi, Russia, Russia signed a series of memorandum of understandings and trade agreements with 54 African countries, the Moscow Times reported. The deals include $4 billion worth of Russian weapons, military helicopters, an investment cooperation deal on an oil pipeline, and potentially a nuclear power station in Ethiopia, according to the article. Debt Write-Off Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to write off $20 billion worth of African debt. Furthermore, he said he plans to double Russia's trade with the African continent within four to five years. Rosatom, a state-nuclear company is in talks with the government of Ethiopia to build a nuclear power station. The Russian enterprise already has...
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Tenuous US-China Trade Talks
14Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Tenuous US-China Trade Talks

October 14, 2019--High-level trade talks between U.S. and Chinese leaders last week produced some results but left the possibility for higher tariffs open in December if details are not settled. "We have a great deal. We're papering it now," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday. "China is going to keep their word. They want to make the deal." China's chief negotiator signaled modest support. "We have made substantial progress in many fields," Vice Premier Liu He said through an interpreter on Friday. "We are happy about it." The partial deal, which is not yet settled, comes at a time when trade between the two countries has fallen. According to a report today in the Financial Times, China's imports from the United States fell 26.4 percent in September while its exports t...
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EU-UK Talks Intensify Ahead of Oct. 31 Brexit
11Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

EU-UK Talks Intensify Ahead of Oct. 31 Brexit

October 11, 2019--With less than three weeks to go before the United Kingdom exits the European Union without a plan to trade with the rest of Europe, new hope for a deal emerged on Friday as the chief negotiator for the European Commission indicated that talks are intensifying "in a constructive spirit." "We are intensifying technical discussions with the United Kingdom over the coming days, in a constructive spirit," Michel Barnier, the European Commission's Chief Negotiator, said today on Twitter. Earlier in the week, Barnier suggested that an agreement would be "difficult, but still possible." EU Position: No Hard Border in Ireland The European Union would only support a withdrawal agreement if it "avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland, protects the all-island eco...
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WTO Deals Blow to U.S. Case Against China’s State-Subsidized Pricing
18Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

WTO Deals Blow to U.S. Case Against China’s State-Subsidized Pricing

July 18, 2019-- The world's litigation body for trade disputes dealt a new blow to a multiyear effort by U.S. representatives to counteract pricing impacted by state-owned enterprises. The decision impacts a wide range of products, including solar panels and aluminum. More striking, it weighs in on the mounting tension in the global economy between competing economic systems. What: This Week's Action Late Tuesday, a World Trade Organization appellate body upheld a decision by a lower panel regarding U.S. tariffs on a series of mostly industrial products imported from China that U.S. officials believe to be subsidized and under priced. Products impacted include solar panels, wind towers, steel cylinders and sinks, kitchen shelving, lawn groomers, aluminum extrusions and a serie...
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