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...
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...
Playing Whack-a-Mole with US Steel Imports
“It can be like whack-a-mole,” one steelmaker exec told us recently. “AD/CVD duties do have an effect, but there is so much excess steel capacity in the world that when, say, China is blocked, here comes the steel from someplace else. Countries are watching for any...
Latin American Economy’s China Syndrome
The Latin American economy’s recession could deepen if China’s economy slows much more, says the International Monetary Fund in a new report that marks down already gloomy forecasts for the region. Brazil, Latin America’s biggest economy, is a drag on the entire...