In The News

Wall Street Journal: Chinese Smartphone and Made in America

Dan Strumpf May 24, 2018
The Trump administration has suggested it may lift an export ban on ZTE phones, the fourth largest supplier of US smartphones, and impose alternative penalties for the now-struggling company. US “companies haven’t been able to ship parts to ZTE since the U.S. Commerce Department’s mid-April order barring sales of products to the Chinese company,” reports Dan Strumpf for the Wall Street Journal. “...

Financial Times: Europe to Seek Exemptions From US Sanctions on Iran

Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, Michael Peel and Tobias Buck May 9, 2018
European leaders met with Donald Trump, detailing their opposition to US exit from the Iran nuclear deal, contending that the agreement was working and that adjustments could be made. Regardless, Trump exited the deal and promised sanctions on countries that do business with Iran. Europe could stand to lose the most from the new sanctions. “EU leaders said they would press Washington to exempt...

The Economist: What’s in It for Belt-and-Road Countries?

April 20, 2018
Trade flourished in Central Asia until shipping routes became faster and more affordable than the Silk Road’s land routes: “many Eurasian hubs floundered,” reports the Economist. The leaders of China and many governments expect that infrastructure investments of the Belt and Road Initiative could revive the region as transport routes. But the Economist questions if the flow of trade will be one...

CNBC: China Refuses to Be the Globe's Trash Dump

Yen Nee Lee April 19, 2018
The world’s largest importer of waste changed its mind and stopped taking in 24 types of scrap. China’s ban on waste imports went into effect this year and Europe, Japan and the United States are scrambling: Europe considers a tax on plastics, Britain looks for other export destinations, and the United States tries to convince China to reverse the ban. “China was the dumping ground for more than...

Reuters: US to Take Another Look at TPP

April 13, 2018
One of President Donald Trump’s early acts in office was to withdraw the United States from Trans Pacific Partnership – a trade pact for Pacific Rim nations. The other 11 nations, led by Japan, concluded the negotiation without the United States and with some US-supported terms on investment and intellectual property. “Republican senators met with Trump on Thursday and he told them that he has...

East Asia Foundation: FDI Outflow Surge From South Korea

Namsuk Choi April 11, 2018
Foreign direct investment outflows from South Korea are surging, increasing by more than 30 percent annually since 2010. Such levels can signal economic growth, but can also warn about rising wages, tax rates and regulations that erode a country’s manufacturing base and eliminate jobs, explains Namsuk Choi for East Asia Foundation. “The Moon Jae-in administration’s economic policies have had...

Politico: How Trump Could Lose a Trade War With China

Doug Palmer April 10, 2018
After demanding concessions from allies by imposing steel and aluminum tariffs in March, US President Donald Trump has instigated a trade war with China without a strong global coalition for support. Analysts suggest that China, an authoritarian regime lacking in democratic or free market oversight, can move more nimbly and undergo less political backlash on the home front if a full-blown trade...