More Tariffs on the Horizon There seems to be no end to the trade pendulum swinging hard toward protectionism in Brussels and Washington– or to Chinese exports continuing to flood global markets. The Biden administration last month slapped tariffs on imports of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and other high-tech goods from China. (They’ll mostly affect batteries.) The… Continue reading How Chinese Exports Beat Tariffs
Insights
Middle East Trade in the Time of War
Middle East: The Big Picture In 2024, the Middle East has been hit by conflict, piracy, and the vagaries of supply chains and the oil market. The specter of protectionism appears threatening, especially between countries in conflict with each other. As the U.S. and the European Union slide into a quasi-permanent protectionist mindset, including tit-for-tat… Continue reading Middle East Trade in the Time of War
China’s EV Export Boom is Driving up Demand for RoRo Ships
China’s electric car export boom has fueled demand in the country for automobile transport ships, driving up prices for foreign buyers. Overall, in March, Chinese ship exports fell 5.9% year-on-year by quantity in March to 399, after steadily rising for most of this decade. By value, they increased 34% to $3.1 billion. So called Roll-on/roll-off,… Continue reading China’s EV Export Boom is Driving up Demand for RoRo Ships
China Reboots Trade Thanks to Africa, India, Latin America
Don’t let anybody tell you that globalization is dying—at least, not yet. Global trade economists obsess over consumer demand and rising protectionism in the U.S. and Europe, but this week’s release of Chinese trade statistics shows that other markets might soon be catching up in relevance. The Promise of Other Markets China’s exports to Latin… Continue reading China Reboots Trade Thanks to Africa, India, Latin America
Vietnam’s Secret Weapon: Agriculture
In a tricky global economy, Vietnamese exports shrank in 2023, but the rising economic power managed to be one of the only countries to increase merchandise exports to China, thanks to a surprising surge in exports of fruits and vegetables, as well as rice, demonstrating the importance of export diversification. The Difficulties of 2023 The country of… Continue reading Vietnam’s Secret Weapon: Agriculture
Ukraine: Two Years of Wheat Exports In Review
As we enter the third year after the invasion of Ukraine, the landscape of Ukrainian trade, and, specifically, exports of wheat, have drastically evolved. As the world’s 4th-largest exporter of wheat and meslin in 2023, Ukraine has remained a relatively stable producer of wheat over the past decade and has remained especially resilient over the… Continue reading Ukraine: Two Years of Wheat Exports In Review
What’s Behind the High-Tech Trade Slump?
It’s not been an easy time for international trade, as a recent report co-authored by Trade Data Monitor and the World Intellectual Property Organization found. High-tech exports are set to decline by 4 percent in 2023, according to the TDM/WIPO analysis. Global and high-tech trade have soared and sunk like rollercoasters since 2019. After the… Continue reading What’s Behind the High-Tech Trade Slump?
China Hikes Iron Ore, Copper Imports Amid Car Building Boom
In the somewhat gloomy December and annual China trade statistics released in the second week of January was buried a piece of data that hearkened back to the boom years of Chinese commodity consumption: China is buying a lot more iron ore and copper. In December, China boosted iron ore imports 11.1% year-on-year to 100.9… Continue reading China Hikes Iron Ore, Copper Imports Amid Car Building Boom
Trade Data Monitor’s Top 10 Trade Trends Going Into 2024
It’s not an easy time for global trade–the roughly $25 trillion piece of the $105 trillion world economy. Protectionism is roaring in the U.S. and Europe, causing geopolitical tension with China. Inflation across most of the world has shrunk consumers’ wallets and imports, while deflation in China is also scaring businesses. Asian supply chains are… Continue reading Trade Data Monitor’s Top 10 Trade Trends Going Into 2024
TDM Data Used to Scrutinize Impact of Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
Trade scholars in a recent paper used Trade Data Monitor data on steel and aluminum trade to gauge the impact of 2018-2019 protectionist measures on U.S. and European Union imports. The paper by Simon Evenett and Fernando Martin, published by the Center for European Policy Research, found that because the U.S. and European Union import… Continue reading TDM Data Used to Scrutinize Impact of Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
China Boosts Imports of Raw Materials by Double Digits
China in October dramatically increased imports of fossil fuels, industrial metals and agricultural commodities, a run on raw materials that if sustained will have a major impact on prices and supply chains. China continued to increase its ferocious energy consumption, hiking imports of natural gas 120.1% year-on-year to 8.8 million tons, coal 23.3% to 36… Continue reading China Boosts Imports of Raw Materials by Double Digits
China’s New Place in Global Trade: Number 1 Importer of Food&Ag
As expected, China reported lackluster trade numbers this week, signaling a possible recession in the U.S. and more trouble for the global economy. Chinese exports fell for the first time in three months, dropping 7.5% year-on-year to $283.5 billion. Imports dropped 4.5% to $217.7 billion. The World Bank this week said that the global economy… Continue reading China’s New Place in Global Trade: Number 1 Importer of Food&Ag
Bangladesh Textile Firms Look to Asian Markets to Recover From Covid-19 Crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic has cast a pall over clothing retail markets in the U.S. and Europe. With iconic firms like Brooks Brothers and JC Penney battling bankruptcy, Asian textile manufacturers have lost billions of dollars in orders. That’s hit Bangladesh’s garment sector, the world’s second largest, particularly hard. The country is heavily dependent on the… Continue reading Bangladesh Textile Firms Look to Asian Markets to Recover From Covid-19 Crisis