Wednesday, December 25

Global Trade

Businesses Begin to Feel the Bite of a Global Trade War
26Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Analysis

Businesses Begin to Feel the Bite of a Global Trade War

June 26, 2018 - As a growing list of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs take effect, businesses are beginning to feel the economic impact. Manufacturers worldwide are bracing for the change and considering ways to manage. Importers and Exporters Impacted Manufacturers in Guangdong, China, for instance, say they are consider setting up factories in countries like India, Vietnam and Mexico, shipping their products to the United States through other countries first and charging U.S. buyers more. While the impact might be relatively small for Chinese industry as a whole, individual industries and companies, such as automotive suppliers, would be hit hard, according to South China Morning Post reporting. Companies making metal products who are exposed to both tariffs and counter tariffs on st...
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U.S. to Target China’s Strategic Industries in New 25 Percent Tariffs
15Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

U.S. to Target China’s Strategic Industries in New 25 Percent Tariffs

June 15, 2018-U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans today to impose 25 percent tariffs on up to $50 billion of Chinese imports related to "industrial significant technologies." The tariffs will target emerging high-technologies outlined in China's "Made in China 2025," a strategic plan China published in 2015. That plan proposes to remake the Chinese economy from a low-cost manufacturing hub to a higher-value producer in 10 key sectors, including green technologies, robotics, aerospace, transportation, information technology, and pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Many analysts, such as those at the Council on Foreign Relations, view China's strategic vision as an industrial threat. Trump echoed that sentiment in his announcement. "The United States can no longer toler...
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NOTABLE QUOTABLE: “If you are spending more than you are producing, that means you will have a trade deficit…. America is spending more than you are producing.”
12Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Quotes

NOTABLE QUOTABLE: “If you are spending more than you are producing, that means you will have a trade deficit…. America is spending more than you are producing.”

Little Sympathy for U.S. Trade Deficit in Singapore June 12, 2018--Speaking to reporters in Singapore, U.S. President Donald Trump complained that the United States "has lost $800 billion" due to its trade deficit with the rest of the world over the last couple years. While that message may appeal to Trump supporters in the United States, it doesn't carry much weight abroad. Lee summed up the U.S. trade-deficit situation quite simply. "If you are spending more than you are producing, that means you will have a trade deficit; if you're spending less than you're producing, that means you will save money or run a trade surplus. So America is spending more than you are producing. Why are you able to do that? Because you are the most powerful country in the world, and everybody else wan...
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What’s Ahead for the Global Economic Order After G7 Summit?
11Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Economics, Global Trade, International Law, Legal Battles, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Analysis

What’s Ahead for the Global Economic Order After G7 Summit?

June 11, 2018--Before exiting early from the G7 Summit in Canada and withdrawing his endorsement for the joint communique, U.S. President Donald Trump negotiated an edit that has a major impact on the global economy. Specifically, Trump's team insisted on changing the phrase "the rules-based international order" to "a rules-based international trading system." While the edit may seem small, it may represent one of the most significant geopolitical shifts in 70 years. The change from "the" to "a" indicates that Trump -- and now also the other six signers of the 2018 communique -- no longer support the rules-based international order that the United States and its allies put in place in the post-World War II world. Instead, they now support a theoretical system, however abstract or ...
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G7 Summit Ends in Insults And Injury to Global Trade, Western Alliance
10Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

G7 Summit Ends in Insults And Injury to Global Trade, Western Alliance

June 10, 2018--Just hours after appearing to sign a G7 Joint Communique with the heads of state of six leading Western democracies on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course by posting on Twitter that he would not endorse the statement. It was a significant setback for relations among the Western democracies, which have struggled to find a common voice since President Trump threatened to raise trade tariffs on its top trading partners. The Communiqué The 28-point statement includes language on "free, fair and mutually beneficial trade and investment," "a rules-based international trading system," and opposition to protectionism. It also declares joint opposition to tax evasion and shared support for education and equal opportunity to take part in the global econo...
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In 2018, Russian Economy Carried On Amid Sanctions
23Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

In 2018, Russian Economy Carried On Amid Sanctions

March 23, 2018-Despite four years of sanctions, the Russian economy appears stronger and more immune to sanctions from the United States and the European Union. As tensions continue to rise and new sanctions go into effect, many Russians who adapted to trade restrictions with the West appear to shrug off the threat of new measures. The economy now grows at a rate of 1.7 percent, having fully recovered from its recession. It is worth asking, what effect the sanctions are having on the Russian economy? In the following article, the Global Economic Report looks at the ways the country overcame sanctions to resume economic growth. Four Years of Sanctions Since Russia annexed the Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014, it has faced sanctions from the European Union and the United States. In March of...
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Amid Tariff Talks, Trade Reps Discuss Joining Forces Against ‘Unfair’ Competition
12Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Brief

Amid Tariff Talks, Trade Reps Discuss Joining Forces Against ‘Unfair’ Competition

March 12-Amid the backdrop of newly announced tariffs on steel and aluminum in the United States, trade representatives from the European Union and Japan met with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Brussels on Saturday to join forces against "unfair" competition undermining "the proper functioning of international trade." It's a timely discussion considering the new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, scheduled to take effect March 23. Both the EU and Japan are expected to apply for exclusions from the tariffs. EU, Japan Seek Tariff Exemptions Amid other topics, the trade representatives discussed the new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Japan and the EU are considering taking actions, as permitted within World Trade Organization rules. "We expressed our concern. It co...
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U.S. to Consider More Exemptions from Metal Tariffs
9Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

U.S. to Consider More Exemptions from Metal Tariffs

March 9, 2018-The next two weeks will be critical for global steel and aluminum exporters seeking to win exemptions from new U.S. tariffs, Trump administration officials said today. A day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed proclamations starting tariffs on steel and aluminum that take effect March 23, his Cabinet secretaries downplayed the decision's impact on the global trading system. "We've already exempted out Canada and Mexico," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC today. "The president can do exemptions. And my expectation is there may be other countries he considers in the next two weeks." Negotiating Leverage The flexibility to exempt products and countries from the tariffs gives Trump extra leverage in negotiations over trade agreements. The United States is cu...
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Trump Signs Off On Metal Tariffs
8Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Trump Signs Off On Metal Tariffs

March 8--Amid threats of countervailing trade measures from Europe, Asia and South America, U.S. President Donald Trump signed two proclamations this afternoon to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 23. The proclamations include waivers to exempt Canada and Mexico from the tariff, provided they do not provide transport of other countries' steel and aluminum products to the United States. They also allow U.S. consumers to apply for exclusions for specific types of steel and aluminum imports that the domestic market does not provide. Surrounded by U.S. workers, Trump said "aggressive foreign trade practices" act as an "assault"  on the U.S. economy, displacing producers and workers. "Our industries have been targeted for years and years, decades in fact, by unfai...
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EU to Target U.S. Exports if Trump’s Tariffs Move Forward
7Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

EU to Target U.S. Exports if Trump’s Tariffs Move Forward

March 7--As U.S. President Donald Trump stood by his plan to raise import tariffs on steel and aluminum, the European Union threatened to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. exports of industrial, steel and agricultural products, a top EU trade official said. If the United States goes forward with imposing tariffs, the EU will respond in a "proportionate and balanced way," Cecilia Malmström , the EU Commissioner for Trade, said on March 7 in Brussels. Malmström pointed out that the United States has not yet taken action on the tariffs Trump announced late last week. If Trump moves forward -- as he is expected to do -- the EU would likely impose its own across-the-board tariffs on steel and aluminum to make up for an expected surge in imports. Furthermore, she said, the EU would likely tak...
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