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China's economy has "downshifted fundamentally over the past couple of years"

Feb 13, 2024
"If we have a China that's growing more slowly, there's less opportunity" globally, says economist Adam Posen.
Consumer prices in China have been falling for too long.
Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images

Global trade in goods seems set to pick up, WTO says

Nov 27, 2023
Demand for electric vehicles is a big driver of the revival.
Trade in auto parts and electronic components have picked up, the World Trade Organization says.
John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

WTO cuts its forecast for 2023's global trade growth in half

Oct 6, 2023
The World Trade Organization predicted trade would grow by 1.7% in 2023. It's been revised to 0.8% due in part to stubborn inflation.
The war in Ukraine and the real estate crisis in China have both bogged down global trade.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Why U.S. agricultural exports are down almost 20% from last year

Sep 29, 2023
In August, agricultural exports were about 20% lower than the same time a year ago, according to the Commerce Department. That's because export volumes have fallen, and ag prices are coming off of recent highs.
"We have soybean exports down, corn exports are down, wheat exports are down," said Naomi Blohm, senior market advisor with Total Farm Marketing.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

U.S., Europe work to hammer out new agreement on tariffs

Sep 8, 2023
Remember those steel and aluminum tariffs that were supposed to target China but also pulled in Europe and Canada? Most of them still exist.
The Trump-era tariffs were imposed with the legal justification of protecting America’s national security. But they were also about protecting America’s steel and aluminum producers from cheaper Chinese imports.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Panama Canal faces uncertain future because of climate change, drought

Jul 31, 2023
Six percent of all global trade passes through the canal’s 50-mile stretch of water. New passage restrictions could particularly harm the U.S. economy — since it's the nation that uses the trade route most.
Above, a ship navigates the Panama Canal in Panama City. The canal authority puts restrictions on shipping companies when there’s not enough water.
Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images

Running a fair trade business means investing in both people and products

Oct 10, 2022
“Your purchasing power is really a force for positive change," says Julio Zegarra-Ballon, owner of Zee Bee Market in St. Louis.
Julio Zegarra-Ballon holds a fleur-de-lis wall hanging made in Haiti of a recycled oil drum.
Courtesy Zee Bee Market

For public good, not for profit.

Climate change is impacting the Panama Canal — and the trade that moves through it

Sep 5, 2022
Officials are searching for a way to increase the flow of water without disrupting the environment and Panamanian society.
Freighters enter the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side. As droughts and storms become more common, the canal needs to find fresh sources of water and new ways to store it. 
Searagen/Getty Images

China’s efforts to address domestic problems can lead to global challenges

Restrictions on exports like fertilizer and steel have major economic ramifications for trading partners.
When the prices of fertilizer began to increase last year, China moved to restrict fertilizer exports. Above, workers move bags of fertilizer in China's northwest Qinghai province in 2005.
Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Could China scoop up Russian goods at bargain-basement prices because of sanctions?

Mar 8, 2022
If fewer countries want Russian goods, supply goes up and China could, in theory, get cheaper prices. It is a whole other thing in practice.
Workers sort packages at a JD.com warehouse in Beijing in November. Items have been flying off the virtual shelves of a Russian store on the Chinese e-commerce site.
Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images