Tag: International Trade and World Market

Plastic Spoons, Umbrellas, Violins: A Guide to What Americans Buy From China

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ITEM Pct. from China Importsfrom China in millions 1 Baby carriages 97% $380 2 Artificial plants 96% $991 3 Umbrellas 96% $491 4 Filing cabinets 96% $88 5 Vacuum flasks 96% $1,634 6 Fireworks 95% $465 7 Children’s picture books 93% $505 8 Portable lighting 91% $901 9 Combs 91% $367 10 Travel kits 90% $42 ITEM Pct. from China Importsfrom China in millions 1 Telephones 42% $50,085 2 Computers 26% $35,473 3 Electric batteries 58% $17,022 4 Other toys 76% $13,463 5 Motor vehicles; parts and accessories 11% $9,059…

Trump Is Breaking the Rule That Every Barroom Brawler Knows

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Provoking your enemies, alienating your friends and actively sabotaging your own defenses is no one’s idea of a sound national security plan. And yet, this is the playbook that President Trump has apparently followed over the first 100 days of his second term. You can see it most clearly in the global fight he kicked off with China. He’s been scrapping for this showdown since before he entered politics, so you’d think that before taking on such a global powerhouse, he’d strengthen every alliance, game out every possible countermeasure and…

Yellen Sees ‘More Work to Do’ as China Talks End With No Breakthrough

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Four days of top-level economic meetings between the United States and China concluded in Beijing on Monday with no major breakthrough, but the world’s two largest economies agreed to hold more discussions to address rising friction over trade, investment and national security. The conversation is poised to become even more difficult, however, as hopes of greater economic cooperation collide with a harsh political reality: It is an election year in the United States, and antipathy toward China is running high. At the same time, Chinese officials appeared unmoved by Treasury…

‘Reglobalization’ to the Rescue?

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Russia, China, Iran and their allies, by contrast, tend to use the term to describe a new world order in which they play a greater role, said Benedikter, who first heard “reglobalization” at a 2017 conference in Russia. Since then, he said, the term has gained traction as the global supply chain has experienced shocks from the pandemic, Russia’s war on Ukraine and attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea. To Harold James, a Princeton economic historian, the term describes the constantly shifting relations in global…

China Lifts Punishing Tariffs on Australian Wine

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In a sign of easing tensions between Australia and China, China said Thursday it will lift the tariffs it placed on Australian wine more than three years ago. The tariffs, which were first imposed in 2020 amid a nasty diplomatic spat between Australia and China, had all but vaporized the country’s biggest overseas market, worth 1.2 billion Australian dollars or around $800 million at its peak. Australian winemakers faced desperate hardship and were stuck with a surfeit of big-bodied red wines. The decision to lift the tariffs was announced by…

Yellen to Warn China Against Flood of Cheap Green Energy Exports

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The Biden administration is growing increasingly concerned that a glut of heavily subsidized green technology exports from China is distorting global markets and plans to confront Chinese officials about the problem during an upcoming round of economic talks in Beijing. The tension over industrial policy is flaring as the United States invests heavily in production of solar technology and electric vehicle batteries with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, while China pumps money into its factory sector to help stimulate its sluggish economy. President Biden and Xi Jinping,…

Germany’s Solar Panel Industry, Once a Leader, Is Getting Squeezed

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Before China came to dominate the solar panel industry, Germany led the way. It was the world’s largest producer of solar panels, with several start-ups clustered in the former East Germany, until about a decade ago when China ramped up production and undercut just about everyone on price. Now as Germany and the rest of Europe try to reach ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the demand for solar panels has only increased. Some of the last remaining manufacturers in Germany’s solar industry are not ready to give up.…

China’s Plan to Spur Growth: A New Slogan With Familiar Ideas

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From the top of the government, China is heavily promoting a plan to fix the country’s stagnant economy and offset the harm from a decades-long housing bubble. The program has a fresh slogan, presented foremost by Xi Jinping, the country’s top leader, as “new, quality productive forces.” But it has features that are familiar from China’s economic playbook: The idea is to spur innovation and growth through massive investments in manufacturing, particularly in high-tech and clean energy, as well as robust spending on research and development. And there have been…