U.S. Market Collapsing For China
As Americans and Chinese officials scrambled to forge new politically acceptable trade terms, China reported a pandemic-level decline in exports to the U.S.
Chinese shipments to the U.S. fell 34.4% year-on-year in May to $28.8 billion, the steepest drop since Covid-19 upended global trade in February 2020. Chinese imports from…
In the new age of trade geopolitics, the only certainty is uncertainty. What we can do at Trade Data Monitor is take an educated look at trade statistics that measure what’s leaving and entering ports, crossing oceans, and flying through the air. To be sure, the scenario is less than rosy. The World Trade Organization…
First Impact of U.S. Tariffs
Chinese shipments to the U.S. plummeted 21% year-on-year in April as the impact of Washington’s new import tariffs started to punish the world’s largest exporter.
However, as Beijing was quick to point out, China compensated by selling more to its economic partners in Southeast Asia. In a striking coincidence, Chinese…
China’s Economy
When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the move was seen as an essential turboboost to a huge but developing country. Without access to global markets, there was no way for China to become the greatest exporter the world has ever seen.
Now, as the backlash to that growth turns into…
Vietnam Pivots Back to Asia
Vietnam, one of the world’s most dynamic economies, now faces one of its most important challenges of this century as it faces protectionist headwinds and tepid consumer economies in the U.S. and Europe.
So far, its formidable export-based economy has seemed up to the task. In 2024, overall exports rose…
Rocky Waters
It’s a perilous time for the global trading system. President Trump has imposed an across-the-board tariff of 20%, in two tranches of 10%, on U.S. imports of Chinese goods. There are threats of more action, on microchips, drugs, and automobiles. Lesser degrees of protectionism in Europe, Canada and elsewhere are also denting confidence…
The Beijing trade engine has been slumping this year amid a tepid global economy, so a surprising jump in Chinese imports in April has raised the prospect of a China-led recovery. Total Chinese imports rose 8.4% year-on-year in April to $220.1 billon, almost double analyst expectations. Total exports increased 1.5% to $292.5 billon.
Surprising Global…
As European Union leaders gathered in Beijing Thursday, one of their demands for China was a more equal trading relationship. “China is the EU’s most important trading partner,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “But there are clear imbalances and differences that we must address.”
Europe’s weak consumer economy is doing its part…
