In The News

Spiegel: WTO Faces Existential Threat

Martin Hesse July 19, 2018
Free trade adds efficiency to the world’s marketplaces. The WTO’s 164 members make decisions by consensus with the goal of leveling “the playing field between strong and weak countries, between industrialized and developing economies, with the goal of increasing prosperity for all,” reports Martin Hesse for Spiegel Online, but the organization has become less relevant as countries pursue...

Asia Sentinel: China’s Belt-Road Initiative – Too Good?

Salman Rafi Sheikh July 18, 2018
The Belt and Road Initiative, China’s far-reaching development plan, faces new scrutiny. Countries that have signed on for roads, ports, dams and other infrastructure investment worry about costs and financing, and “China’s attempts at political and economic manipulation of smaller countries are becoming increasingly visible, making client countries suspicious as well,” explains Salman Rafi...

South China Morning Post: Japan and EU Sign “Biggest” Trade Deal

July 17, 2018
The European Union and Japan signed a large trade deal even as the US president has imposed tariffs and criticizes major trade partners including the European Union, China and Mexico: “Both sides also signed a strategic partnership agreement, a framework aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation on a broad range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including security, cybercrime and climate...

Financial Times: Trade War Escalation Rattles Global Stocks

Joe Rennison, Pan Kwan Yuk and Gabriel Wildau July 12, 2018
The United States announced additional tariffs worth $200 billion on Chinese imports, and retaliation is anticipated from China. US tariffs would cover nearly half of Chinese imports. Global stock markets, especially chipmaker, industrial and mining sectors, are in decline. “The escalating trade war is adding to downward pressure on China’s economy from a slowdown in infrastructure investment and...

Washington Post: India Imposes Retaliatory Tariffs on US

Annie Gowen July 10, 2018
India has joined the global trade war alongside the European Union, China and other US trading partners in response to the Trump administration’s recent tariff hikes on steel and aluminum by increasing import duties on goods such as almonds, apples and select metal products. India notified the World Trade Organization of this decision on June 14. Annie Gowen reports for the Washington Post: “it...

BBC: US-China Trade War Could Hurt All

Karishma Vaswani July 5, 2018
The United States launched tariffs on a range of products, and China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico quickly retaliated. The US targeted products associated with the Made in China 2025 initiative, and in turn China targeted US agriculture, the car sector, medical products and coal. “A list of Chinese products will be hit with a 25% tariff from Friday – effectively making them 25% more...

The Economist: Trade War Between US and China Looks Likely

July 4, 2018
A transpacific trade war between the United States and China looms large, with the Trump administration alleging that China has stolen “America’s intellectual property” and engaged in “unfair industrial policy.” On June 15, the Trump administration offered two lists of Chinese products that would be subject to tariffs of 25 percent, worth about $50 billion. The first list comes into effect on...