Vietnam’s Moment in (Trade) Time
The wars in Iran and Ukraine, and trade turmoil around the world, especially involving the U.S. and China, have obscured what continues to be one of the essential trade stories of the century: Vietnam’s export growth.
The Asian country of 102 million has staged an epic comeback since the 1970s…
One way of looking at China’s trade economy in December and for the full 2025 year is its export surge, amplified by a weak currency, deflation at home, and inflation in most of the rest of the world. China pumped up total monthly exports 6.6% to $357.8 billion in December from $335.6 billion over the…
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…
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…
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…
