Wednesday, July 9

Global Trade

U.S.-China Talk Trade, Technology As Commerce Secretary Visits Officials
30Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

U.S.-China Talk Trade, Technology As Commerce Secretary Visits Officials

Investing In China Is Now 'Risky Business,' Raimondo Says Aug. 30, 2023—Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo completed a four-day visit to China this week as part of a diplomatic effort to smooth economic relations between the world's largest economies. The challenge for Raimondo and President Joe Biden is coordinating a new approach to China amid a shift in sentiment away from trade liberalization. Adding to the challenge for U.S. diplomats are China's state control of the economy, tense foreign relations, and a tougher environment for U.S. businesses practicing in China. Raimondo told reporters she raised concerns about theft of intellectual property, raids on businesses, a new counterespionage law, and extreme fines under that law. "Increasingly, I hear from businesses Chin...
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China Sees Sharpest Decline In Trade Since Early Pandemic
8Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

China Sees Sharpest Decline In Trade Since Early Pandemic

August 8, 2023—China's trade with the rest of the world fell by 14.5 percent year-on-year in July, according to government data. That was the sharpest drop in imports and exports since early 2020. The decline was more than the 12.5 percent fall predicted by a poll of economists conducted by Reuters. Exports from the world's second-largest economy have fallen for three straight months, as the consumer and business appetite for China's goods in Europe and the United States has fallen. The decline may reflect weaker demand for China-made products as well as other factors such as shifts in supply chain, high global inflation, and rising interest rates. The largest drops in foreign buying of goods occurred in the computer, steel, and clothing sectors, according to reporting by the Financ...
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Russian Grain Deal Is Back On, Turkey Says
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Russian Grain Deal Is Back On, Turkey Says

November 2, 2022—A grain deal that lets grain flow from Ukraine and Russia through Turkey to the global economy is back on as of 12:00 p.m. today, according to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan announced that Russia is rejoining the agreement, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He helped broker the deal with Ukraine and Russia along with the United Nations in July. It establishes a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, Turkey where officials inspect vessels for the sake of shipping food and fertilizer to the rest of the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin left the deal over the weekend, citing Ukraine's military actions against a key bridge as a reason. But Russian officials stayed engaged with the initiative, according to a recent UN update. As of toda...
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What Happens When China Buys Up Europe’s Ports?
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Europe, EU, Eurozone, Geopolitics, Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Analysis

What Happens When China Buys Up Europe’s Ports?

China's Xi Jinping has a stake in developing relations with Greece and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua China's State-Owned Cosco To Buy Stake In Another European Port November 2, 2022—Greece may be a pioneer and champion of democracy, but in the business of trade it owes a great deal to communist China. In fact, its largest port, Piraeus, is owned by a Chinese state-owned shipping company called Cosco Shipping. That's the subject of a fine piece of reporting by Kaki Bali for Germany's DW, called "In Greece's Largest Port of Piraeus, China Is The Boss." Bali looks at the implications on trade and geopolitics as China's Cosco buys up ports in Greece, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and Brussels. Noting the modernization of the port and jobs, ...
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Migrant Workers At U.S. Military Bases Face Forced To Stay By Private Contractors
31Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Human rights, Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief

Migrant Workers At U.S. Military Bases Face Forced To Stay By Private Contractors

Photo NBC Complaints Of Forced Labor Linger While Private Firms Continue To Win U.S. Contracts October 31, 2022—In an irony of ironies, the U.S. government opposes to human trafficking and forced labor at the same time that its Defense Department hires private contractors that routinely conducting those practices.  Migrant civilians working on U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf are subject to trafficking and abusive labor practices, according to a groundbreaking investigation conducted by a team of international journalists. The team included investigative reporters from the Washington Post, NBC News, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalists to uncover the story. Their findings came to light late last...
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3 Things That Cross The U.S.-Mexican Border: Drugs, Guns, And Migrants
19Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Diplomacy, Types of News: Analysis

3 Things That Cross The U.S.-Mexican Border: Drugs, Guns, And Migrants

October 19, 2022—The United States and Mexico have at least three things in common: drugs, guns and migrants. The U.S.-Mexico border is porous, and trafficking of all three runs rampant. In the United States, deadly drugs from the South kill Americans. Conversely, in Mexico, illegal firearms from the North empower cartels and endanger society. Meanwhile, migrants from around the world risk their lives to make it across the border. A Shared Border, Shared Problems Leaders in both governments recognize the problems. Their presidents are making plans to address them. Speaking by phone late Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador reviewed plans to improve security along the border, prosecute gun traffickers, reduce illegal migration, ...
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U.S. Treasury Assesses Impact Of Sanctions On Russia
17Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Treasury Assesses Impact Of Sanctions On Russia

U.S. Government Warns About Secondary Sanctions To People Or Entities Supporting Russia's War October 17, 2022—As Russia has waged war against Ukraine and Ukraine fought back, Western governments have carefully weighed in on the battle through the global financial system. It's a powerful economic coalition that comprises 37 countries. The U.S. government alone issued roughly 1,500 new sanctions and amended 750 more. They target Russia's defense industrial base, the aerospace sector, the microelectronic industry, financial institutions, elites and oligarchs, luxury goods, and oil refining. The sanctions are having an impact on the Russian economy. But is it enough to have an impact strong enough to end the war? Impact of Sanctions On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department rele...
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NATO Reaffirms Support For Ukraine, Strengthens Air Defense
13Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Geopolitics, Types of News: Brief

NATO Reaffirms Support For Ukraine, Strengthens Air Defense

Photo by Kongsberg October 13, 2022—As NATO ministers met in Brussels yesterday and today, Russia's bombardment of Ukraine's capital and nine other cities was fresh on their minds. The war intensified, and NATO and the G7 nations of Western countries strengthened their support for Ukraine. Ukraine has asked the military alliance of 30 countries to fast track its request for membership. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that would lead to World War II. And many NATO-member leaders took heed. "We do not want world war," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter. Germany, meanwhile, is leading the effort to strengthen Europe's military defense. Air Defense System While NATO treads lightly on expansion. Today, 14 NATO members agreed to jointly develop an air de...
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New U.S. Ban On Xinjiang-Made Products Goes Into Effect
22Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Human rights, Types of News: Brief

New U.S. Ban On Xinjiang-Made Products Goes Into Effect

Source: WSJ June 22, 2022—A new U.S. law banning products made in Xinjiang, China goes into effect today. It requires U.S. importers to pay close attention to goods that might have been produced by forced labor in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The list of products impacted includes cotton and textiles, hair products, and silicon. Some of the companies named in the import ban are already on the U.S. sanctions list. Last year, for example, the U.S. government ban solar products made in Xinjiang. The complaint by the United States is that the products are made with forced labor by the Chinese government of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other minorities. The region is known, according to a statement by the State Department,  for ongoing practices by the Chinese government...
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WTO Ministers Reach Multiple Agreements
17Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

WTO Ministers Reach Multiple Agreements

WTO concluded its 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva on June 17, 2022 Geneva Summit Concludes With Trade Accords On Fisheries, Vaccines, Food Safety, AND WTO Reform June 17, 2022—Delegates at the World Trade Organization reached multiple deals on trade this week. At the conclusion of an in-person ministerial summit held in Geneva, the WTO announced agreements on fisheries subsidies, intellectual property, digital trade, rules for COVID-19 vaccines, food safety and agriculture, and WTO reform. "The outcomes demonstrate that the WTO is, in fact, capable of responding to the emergencies of our time,” said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “They show the world that WTO members can come together, across geopolitical fault lines, to address problems of the global commons, ...
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