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Scott Tong

Correspondent

Scott Tong is a former correspondent for Marketplace. He reported on sustainability issues (energy, climate, environment, resources) for Marketplace, as well as the U.S.-China technology relationship, frequently described as “fraught.” He is Marketplace’s former China bureau chief. What was your first job? English-language audiotape (yes, tape) voice-over work. Sixth grade.Taiwan. What advice do you wish someone had given you before you started this career? Show up an hour before the interview. Fill in the blank: Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you ______. Gas for kid carpools; Washington Capitals hockey tickets. What is something that everyone should own, no matter how much it costs? Smoker (plus wooden slotted spoon). What’s your most memorable Marketplace moment? Sneaking into Burma for twenty bucks.

Latest from Scott Tong

  • Apr 24, 2018

    The EPA is at the center of a debate over pesticide regulations

    Farmer Mike Locati in eastern Washington.
    Courtesy of Esmy Jimenez

    Chlorpyrifos has helped protect crops from pests since 1965, but it's also been linked in studies to low-IQ babies and dead fish.

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  • Apr 21, 2018

    Global economic recovery eats through oil glut

    This morning President Donald Trump turned his ire on OPEC: “OPEC is at it again,” he tweeted. “Oil prices are artificially Very High!” Sure, it’s convenient to blame someone for high gas prices. But the broader story — beyond the 280 characters that Twitter allows — is that something bigger is happening in the world oil […]

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  • Apr 14, 2018

    TPP re-think could boost U.S.-Pacific trade

    The world has had about a day to digest President Donald Trump’s 180-degree turn on trade. We are talking about TPP — the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Candidate Trump railed against TPP. He pulled the U.S out in his first week as president. Now, he’s told his top economic lieutenants to explore going back in. What do American […]

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  • Apr 5, 2018

    What does a trade war mean for the U.S. economy?

    A Chinese worker looks on as a cargo ship is loaded at a port in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province in July.

    Let's break down how it will affect the country's GDP, jobs or even agriculture.

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  • Apr 3, 2018

    Chinese tariffs spark fear among some U.S. farmers

    The market’s couldn’t ignore a brewing trade war forever. Stocks slid today on the news of countertariffs from China on items including American cherries, wine and pork. We’ll bring you the latest on markets, then we’ll talk to U.S. producers who have become increasingly dependent on the fast-growing Chinese market and now fear they’ll lose […]

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  • Mar 29, 2018

    Critics fear EPA changes will give big industry more sway over science

    “Data needs to be transparent and objective for the American people to consume,” says Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Above, Pruitt answers questions at a White House briefing in June.
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Under the new policy, academic study authors will have to share their raw data, leaving it vulnerable to distortion, some worry.

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  • Mar 13, 2018

    China moves to tighten control of the internet

    In China, the internet is censored. You can’t get access to Google, or Facebook or Twitter unless you have a workaround known as a virtual private network. VPN technology lets users jump over the so-called Great Firewall of China. But now those jumping days could be ending. By month’s end, Beijing plans to block all VPN […]

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  • Mar 2, 2018

    U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs could draw swift retaliation

    In announcing the tariffs today, President Trump said they are necessary for national security.

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  • Feb 14, 2018

    What will rising bond yields mean if the economy keeps heating up?

    The Fed is expected to raise interest rates multiple times this year, which could affect interest rates and yields in the broader bond market. Today a top bond trader at Goldman Sachs forecast the yield on the 10-year Treasury will rise to as high as 3.5 percent by the summer. We haven’t been in a […]

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  • Jan 26, 2018

    Oil prices creep up as the global economy grows

    With the world’s major economies chugging along, people are using more oil. That means more demand for crude, just as some places that supply it are cutting back. Some production cuts are intentional — like Saudi Arabia’s — but other hiccups in supply are due to political chaos, like Venezuela. If U.S. fracking steps up […]

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