Pharmaceutical imports and imports of chemicals under Section VI of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are likely to be one of the sectors most notably impacted by the coronavirus pandemic over the next several years. The commonly held belief is that Covid-19 has...
COVID-19: Global Trade Braces for Epochal Change
Last year closed with a Phase One agreement to “reset the relationship” between the U.S. and China. Roughly the same time, the first cases of the novel coronavirus were presenting themselves in Wuhan. The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on global markets will dwarf the...
Automotive Sector Bracing for Long-Term Impact of COVID-19
Sophisticated and globally connected supply chains have made the movement of goods more efficient and accessible but, at the same time, susceptible to economic crisis and natural disasters such as the financial crisis in 2008 and the Asian Tsunami in 2011. While many...
Coronavirus Stress Tests Supply Chains and Slows Trade Flow
Companies in diverse sectors, including consumer electronics, automobiles and automotive parts, pharmaceuticals, and apparel are warning they are mere weeks away from running out of production-critical supplies as Chinese factories shut down and cross-border commerce...
Trade Policy Shifts Flatten U.S. Import Peak Shipping
U.S. tariffs on imports from China consigned the traditional peak shipping season to the ghosts of Christmases past this year. The U.S.-China trade war pushed the U.S. import shipping volume trend line for 2019 to an early peak in July before driving TEUs [20-foot...
Chemicals Industry Trends: Shale Lifts U.S. Exports of Petrochemicals
In the first half of this year, Descartes Datamyne trade data shows, the U.S. swung from net importer to exporter of methanol [HS290511], a basic petrochemical derived from natural gas. The trade surplus might have been more substantial had shipments to China not...
Preparing for Brexit: Amid Uncertainty, Count on Trade Data to Measure the Impact
As the UK nears its latest deadline for departing the EU, what will happen next remains unclear. Descartes Datamyne international data – including our new UK database – keeps Brexit’s ongoing effects on global trade in sharp focus. “Entrenched uncertainty” – that’s...
Car Alarm: U.S. Auto Exports & The Impact of Shifting Trade Policy
A return to the 25% duty rate on U.S. automotive exports to China is set to enter into effect on December 15th, and U.S. auto-makers are worried about the effects. Overseas sales of U.S.-made cars have yet to recover after last year’s tariff cut shipments to China by...
U.S. to End GSP Eligibility for India and Turkey
The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced an end to Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) eligibility for India and Turkey after finding the countries no longer meet the conditions for getting duty-free access to U.S. markets as developing...
Hot Pursuit: Competition for EV Battery Metals Revs Up
A global scramble is on to secure supplies of EV battery metals – the cobalt, graphite and lithium – that go into the batteries that make electric vehicles go. The global market’s growing embrace of electric vehicles is driving demand, and sparking volatility...