Donald Trump and Joe Biden endorse protectionism, while globalization was once promoted as virtuous and irreversible by previous US presidents. The global political economy has transformed drastically. China has emerged as the United States’ principal opponent, with a larger share of the global economy (18.58% in 2022) than the United States. To counter China’s high-tech … Read More
Volkswagen AG reaffirmed its commitment to an automotive plant in Xinjiang after a visit by its China chief, despite persistent concerns of human rights abuses in the country’s far western region. The German carmaker said it has no indication that workers are mistreated at the facility in the city of Urumqi, which is operated by … Read More
Steel is threatening to become the latest area of commercial conflict between the US and Mexico after a bipartisan group of US lawmakers called on the Biden administration to restore Trump-era tariffs if necessary to stem a surge in imports. A group of more than a dozen US senators, including Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas … Read More
Mountain Pass has emerged as a flagship operation for the US push to reshape flows of critical minerals. It accounted for about 15% of the world’s mined rare earths supply in 2021. MP Materials is also planning a factory in Texas to make rare-earth magnets, which are vital in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles … Read More
Finance Minister Christian Lindner is worried that Germany’s economy is becoming too reliant on China and called for closer trade ties with democratic countries to counteract this dependency. “Dangerous development: German trade deficit with China more than doubled in 2022,” Lindner wrote on Twitter. “We should learn from the experience with Russia.” Germany “urgently” needs … Read More
BC’s lumber industry anxiously dissects US President Joe Biden’s latest “Buy American” rhetoric to better understand its implications for Canadian exporters. The BC Lumber Trade Council is concerned that President Biden now also wants to restrict the use of two-by-fours from overseas for overseas projects. x27; US federally funded infrastructure. Mr. Biden announced these expanded … Read More
Who could imagine that a small order-fulfillment Chinese company with almost no garment manufacturing experience would become the world’s largest fast fashion retailer in less than two decades? Shein’s massive success is no accident and not just the result of a more innovative business model. The company’s exponential growth depends on the Chinese Communist Party … Read More
When President Biden assumed office two years ago, proponents of free trade hoped it would signal a break from President Trump’s protectionist stance. To the chagrin of many, Biden’s trade policy remains a mystery. Some analysts believe Biden is continuing the neo-protectionism of the Trump era, although with a bit more polish. But I believe … Read More
“There will be some cases where tariffs get passed on to American consumers, but that’s nowhere near the norm. Compare that to real consumer taxes, like the gasoline tax, which is 100% paid for by consumers,” Benoit said. Made-in-China producers mostly absorbed the brunt of that tariff. Benoit gave the example of the Buick Envision, … Read More
On the day the GDP data was published, the President of the United States scheduled an event with unions in Springfield, on the outskirts of Washington, in Virginia. There he made a presentation of economic protectionism and dismissed international complaints (among them European ones) of his protectionism: “To hell with that,” he said, later laughing. … Read More
