Men’s Journal (July 1)
“For years, the U.S. has issued cautionary travel advisories to citizens heading overseas. But in a surprising twist, the roles have flipped. Several countries, including longtime allies like Australia, Canada, and the U.K., are now warning their citizens about traveling to the United States.” The warnings cite violence, mass shootings, detention, and other items. “Germany, France, Denmark, and Finland all issued warnings about new U.S. gender marker policies that may affect travelers who use ‘X’ or nonbinary identifiers.” Due in part to these warnings, the World Travel & Tourism Council is projecting a “$12.5 billion decline in international tourism revenue to the U.S. in 2025.”
Tags: $12.5 billion, Allies, Australia, Canada, Citizens, Denmark, Detention, Finland, France, Gender, Germany, Mass shootings, Nonbinary, Overseas, Travel advisories, U.K., U.S., Violence, Warnings
Inside EVs (June 30)
Ford CEO Jim Farley is impressed with China’s electric vehicle industry. Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Summit, he said, “it’s the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen.” He recognizes that EVs in China are far more advanced, “They have far superior in-vehicle technology.” American technology “in most cars amounts to a media player, a navigation system and maybe some smart cruise control. China has pushed the envelope far beyond that.” They also offer a better price and better quality than U.S. cars. “Their cost, their quality of their vehicles is far superior to what I see in the West” said Farley who added, “We are in a global competition with China…. And if we lose this we do not have a future at Ford.”
Tags: Advanced, Aspen Ideas Summit, CEO, China, EV, Farley, Ford, Future, Global competition, Humbling, Impressed, Price, Quality, Technology, U.S.
New York Times (June 30)
China now dominates “even clean energy industries the United States had once led. In 2008 the United States produced nearly half of the world’s polysilicon, a crucial material for solar panels. Today, China produces more than 90 percent. China’s auto industry is now widely seen as the most innovative in the world, besting the Japanese, the Germans and the Americans.”
Tags: Auto industry, China, Clean energy, Dominates, Germany, Innovative, Japan, Polysilicon, Solar panels, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (June 25)
Steel and aluminum :”are trump’s worst tariffs.” They “will hit consumers, jobs and national security.” On June 3, President Trump announced that U.S. tariff rates on steel and aluminum would double to 50%, effective the next day.“ This move constitutes “the most reckless trade action of the Trump presidency.” The tariffs on these crucial manufacturing materials “will drive up the cost of U.S. manufactured products dramatically.” They may “drag the economy into a recession” and “will increase the probability of retaliation against American exports and an all-out trade war.” On top of that, the tariffs “will harm national security by increasing the cost of two essential components of defense procurement.”
Tags: 50, Aluminum, Consumers, Defense procurement, Economy, Exports, Jobs, Manufacturing, National security, Recession, Reckless, Retaliation, Steel, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, U.S.
USA Today (June 22)
“The U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend could ratchet up the pressure on an American economy that’s turned increasingly fragile as a weekslong global trade war takes a toll.” The new foray “is most likely to impact oil prices, investors said, which could ripple through the economy by causing higher transportation and gas prices, just as overall inflation throughout the economy has seemed to be contained.”
Tags: Attack, Economy, Foray, Fragile, Gas prices, Impact, Inflation, Investors, Iran, Nuclear sites, Oil prices, Ripple, Trade war, Transportation, U.S.
Reuters (June 19)
“Central banks are grappling with elevated uncertainty about economic growth and inflation, complicating decision-making, especially for those trying to calibrate policy as they near the end of their rate-cutting cycles.” The rate uncertainty is in turn “making life hard for investors.” For example, “Norway’s central bank on Thursday gave markets a shock by cutting interest rates, and even the U.S. Federal Reserve is warning not to put much weight on its policy projections.”
Tags: Calibrate, Central banks, Decision-making, Economic growth, Fed, Grappling, Inflation, Investors, Norway, Policy projections, Rate-cutting cycles, U.S., Uncertainty, Warning
The Interpreter (June 17)
“American influence in the Pacific is evaporating like wet footprints in the hot sun,” according to a recent survey of Australians. “The United States was already lagging behind China in 2024 (at 25 per cent versus China’s 34 per cent), but this year’s result shows only around half as many Australians think America holds the most influence in the Pacific (18 per cent) as those who think the same of China (34 per cent).”
Tags: 2024, Australians, China, Evaporating, Influence, Lagging, Pacific, Survey, U.S.
Washington Post (June 15)
The “U.S. could lose more immigrants than it gains for first time in 50 years.” This would “mark a turning point in the country’s demographic and economic trajectory, and an abrupt shift from the nearly 3 million net migrants the United States gained just last year.” Negative migration “could become a drag on the U.S. labor force,” potentially slowing “economic growth and fueling inflation.”
Tags: 3 million, 50 years, Abrupt shift, Demographic, Drag, Economic growth, Inflation, Labor force, Migrants, Negative migration, Trajectory, Turning-point, U.S.
New York Times (June 12)
“America’s closest allies are increasingly turning to each other to advance their interests, deepening their ties as the Trump administration challenges them with tariffs and other measures that are upending trade, diplomacy and defense.” Much of the proactive push involves Britain, France, Canada, Japan and other middle powers. Their efforts “to come closer together as the United States recalibrates its global role… will be on display over the next few days as the Group of 7 industrialized nations’ leaders meet in Alberta, Canada.”
Tags: Advance, Alberta, Allies, America, Britain, Canada, Challenges, Defense, Diplomacy, France, G7, Japan, Middle powers, Recalibrates, Tariffs, Ties, Trade, Trump, U.S., Upending
Washington Post (June 12)
“Trump miscalculated on China. Now the administration is trying to fix the mess.” The United States “started off with the economic upper hand, thanks to low unemployment, falling inflation and a strong global network of alliances,” but Trump “overplayed” his hand with China. As a result, “markets are volatile because of uncertainty. Recession fears loom.” Now, the “two nations have a chance for a reset. But both must recognize they remain mutually dependent.”
Tags: Administration, Alliances, China, Falling inflation, Global network, Low unemployment, Markets, Mess, Miscalculated, Mutually dependent, Overplayed, Recession fears, Reset, Trump, U.S., Uncertainty, Upper hand, Volatile
