Bloomberg (October 22)
“Six months into Donald Trump’s trade war, the resilience of Chinese exports is proving just how essential many of its products remain even after US levies of 55%.” The weaknesses of Trump’s tariffs are becoming clear. They “appear somewhat limited in their ability to control what American firms import, as China’s sway over sectors such as rare earths and electronics makes its products hard to dislodge.” On top of that, loopholes play a factor. “American importers are able to pay a lower levy by declaring the customs value of goods based on their first sale in a third country, and then raising the price when the items reach a US port. Transhipping via Mexico or Vietnam means some firms are likely not paying the full tax.”
Tags: China, Customs value, Dislodge, Electronics, Essential, Exports, Importers, Loopholes, Mexico, Price, Products, Rare earths, Resilience, Tariffs, Trade war, Transhipping, Trump, U.S., Vietnam
Washington Post (October 20)
“President Donald Trump says he beat inflation. But several conventional measures of rising prices paint a different picture. Most experts agree inflation has picked up in recent months, in part because of Trump’s tariffs. Economists expect more tariff-driven price increases in the months to come.”
Tags: Beat, Conventional, Economists, Experts, Inflation, Measures, Rising prices, Tariffs, Trump
Politico (October 19)
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde believes the global economy is “in transformation,” brought about especially by two factors. “One is the tariffs, which have changed the map of trade around the world and reconstituted new alliances and reformed the way in which we trade with each other…. The second major transformation is the impact of artificial intelligence on everything we do from data management to dating and everything in between.”
Tags: Alliances, Artificial intelligence, Data management, ECB, Global economy, Impact, Lagarde, Tariffs, Trade, Transformation
Bloomberg (October 7)
Should Trump’s “signature tariffs” be overturned by the Supreme Court, “it would unleash a bureaucratic nightmare involving reams of refund paper checks.” This could involve refunding “the bulk of the $165 billion in customs duties collected so far this fiscal year back to companies that paid them. But they won’t have an easy time getting their money back.”
Tags: $165 billion, Bureaucratic nightmare, Companies, Customs duties, Overturned, Paper checks, Supreme Court, Tariffs, Trump
Bloomberg (October 2)
“The European Union plans to hike tariffs on steel imports to 50% and cut by nearly a half the volume of steel that’s allowed in before that higher rate is imposed.” In recent years, “European steel imports have risen as production has fallen.” This move is designed to “align the bloc’s rate with the US, which has sought to push back against overcapacity from China.”
Tags: Align, EU, Imports, Overcapacity, Production, Steel, Tariffs, U.S.
Time (September 27)
“The latest move in a sweeping tariff agenda that has roiled global markets and touched various sectors of the economy, as well as Americans’ wallets,” begins with the imposition of tariffs on branded pharmaceuticals (100%), kitchen and bathroom cabinets (50%), upholstered furniture (30%), and semi trucks (25%). Though “Americans could see an uptick in some prices,” this could be limited by exemptions, as well as the existing or expanding U.S. presence of major producers.
Tags: Branded pharmaceuticals, Cabinets, Economy, Exemptions, Furniture, Global markets, Prices, Roiled, Sectors, Semi trucks, Sweeping, Tariffs, Uptick
Fortune (September 23)
“The OECD has lifted its prediction of global growth to 3.2% for the year, up from the 2.9% it forecasted in June. Predicted U.S. growth rose to 1.8%, an uptick from the 1.6% predicted in June. Still, the OECD warned it had not revised global or U.S. prospects for next year, and the outlook is not good” as the negative impact of tariffs has yet to fully materialize. In 2026, “global growth is predicted to drop to 2.9% while U.S. growth is set to hit 1.5% in 2026, a significant decrease from the respective 3.3% and 2.8% growth in 2024.”
Tags: 2026, 3.2%, Decrease, Global growth, Materialize, Negative impact, OECD, Outlook, Prediction, Tariffs, U.S., Uptick, Warned
New York Times (September 16)
“While other countries have scrambled to meet President Trump’s demands to strike deals for reduced tariffs, China has kept to its own timetable.” The costly price has been a 15% drop in “China’s exports to the United States… so far this year.” China has successfully offset this with surging exports to other countries, but robust exports are “masking weakness in other parts of its economy. A persistent real estate downturn has wrecked [sic] havoc on the economy. Consumers are spending less, while joblessness among young people remains a major problem. China is also dealing with a stubborn deflationary spiral, spurred by overproduction in key industries and price wars.” Still, given its degree of media control, the Chinese government does not appear anxious about negotiating a trade deal with the U.S.
Tags: China, Consumers, Deals, Deflationary spiral, Demands, Downturn, Economy, Exports, Havoc, Joblessness, Overproduction, Price wars, Real estate, Spending, Surging, Tariffs, Trump, U.S., Weakness
Bloomberg (September 8)
“China’s export growth slowed to the weakest in six months as a slump in shipments to the US deepened again, although a surge in sales to other markets kept Beijing on track for a record trade surplus of over $1.2 trillion this year.” The figures ‘add to the picture of fracturing global trade flows after President Donald Trump’s tariffs of 55% on Chinese exports…. By steering exports to markets outside… China has racked up a trade surplus of just over $785 billion in the first eight months of the year, almost a third more than during the same period of 2024.”
Tags: $1.2 trillion, Beijing, China, Export growth, Fracturing, Global trade flows, Shipments, Surge, Tariffs, Trade surplus, Trump, U.S., Weakest
New York Times (September 6)
“When the federal government last month reported a sharp decline in the nation’s hiring, President Trump dismissed the numbers, claiming without evidence that they were “rigged,” and then ousted the official responsible for producing them.” This month’s jobs report was even worse, confirming “the reality that Mr. Trump has been trying to avoid. The labor market is stalling—and the nation is facing real strains—under the weight of his economic agenda.” His administration will try to deflect, but “the numbers mostly reflect what Americans already know.” Consumer sentiment has weakened in anticipation of tariff-linked inflation while “surveys show that workers are worried about holding onto their jobs and pessimistic about their chances of finding a different one.”
Tags: Consumer sentiment, Federal government, Hiring, Inflation, Jobs report, Labor market, Rigged, Sharp decline, Stalling, Strains, Tariffs, Trump, Weakened, Workers, Worried
