Economists have enjoyed significant influence over U.S. economic policy since the Great Depression. In Bill Clinton’s presidency (1993-2000), economist influence may have reached a peak. With Larry Summers and Bob Rubin at Treasury, Robert Reich at Labor, and Martin Baily at the Council of Economic Advisers, economists were seemingly everywhere in Washington. Bill Clinton even … Read More
About 33 percent of Chinese companies surveyed reported a deterioration in the business environment within the European Union in 2023, according to a report released by China’s top foreign trade and investment promotion agency on Sunday. Some EU member economies have developed a toolkit of protectionist policies, which have made it more difficult for foreign … Read More
Drs. Glynn Tonsor (Kansas State University) and Derrell Peel (Oklahoma State University)implore their readers to be discerning students of the trade data influencing their business, sifting out the noise and meaningless talking points related to trade policy: Given persistent misunderstanding and market dynamics in the global marketplace, periodic updated assessments are encouraged. Read the article.
China can withstand any new tariffs the world throws at it – even the punitive ones Donald Trump is planning if he wins a second presidential term – because its prices are simply too competitive to resist. That’s the predominant view at this month’s Canton Fair. Many buyers and sellers at China’s biggest trade event, held in … Read More
China’s foreign trade, buoyed by the steady upturn of the domestic economy and an improved trading structure increasingly driven by high-tech and green products and export market diversification, will continue to exhibit resilience this year, according to officials and executives on Friday. “The performance of foreign trade is closely linked to the domestic economy,” Guo … Read More
Biden’s demand to raise the current 7.5% average tariff on steel and aluminum is an effort to make clear that his administration’s recent warnings about China’s trade practices are not empty threats. “These are strategic and targeted actions that are going to protect American workers and ensure fair competition,” Biden added. “Prices are unfairly low … Read More
Brazil will maintain tariffs on US ethanol imports despite “tough” complaints from the Biden administration, said Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro. “We cannot risk making things more precarious for Brazilian producers,” Fávaro said during a sugar cane industry conference in Brasilia on Wednesday. Ethanol is a hot-button issue in major corn-producing states such as Iowa and Illinois … Read More
The president’s efforts to restrict Chinese imports and block a Japanese steel merger have pleased labor unions and sent a message to rival Donald J. Trump. The politics behind Mr. Biden’s strategy appears clear: When it comes to manufacturing, the president wants to leave no doubt that he is as much “America First” as Mr. … Read More
Decades of trade deficits and a strong dollar created too many “losers” in the U.S. economy who turned to Donald Trump’s protectionist policies, according to Richard Koo, chief economist at the Nomura Research Institute — and those conditions remain. “When we studied economics and free trade, in particular, we were taught…that free trade always creates … Read More
In a briefing in Brussels just hours before the two-day EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) got underway in nearby Leuven, US trade representative Katherine Tai said that Beijing’s “non-market” policies will inflict severe economic and political damage on the two blocs, unless they are tackled through appropriate “countermeasures”. “I think what we see in … Read More
