Trade Archive

Is Laos on the edge of an economic boom, or a bust? Six of the 11 countries in Southeast Asia have an external debt higher than the developing world average of 26 percent of gross national income, according to a report last year by FT Confidential Research, an independent research service from the Financial Times. Laos was the worst offender, with an external debt of 93.1 percent of its GNI. Laos was also weakest when it came to its ability to repay loans. Its ratio of external debt to exports, an important indicator, was 327.9 percent. Foreign currency reserves are […]

Editor’s Note: Guest columnist Edward Alden is filling in for Kimberly Ann Elliott this week. The trade war between the United States and China has entered a new and dangerous phase. Both countries have moved from using tariffs and other trade sanctions in a reasonably strategic fashion in order to try and strengthen their negotiating position into a series of punitive measures designed to inflict significant economic harm on the other. As markets signaled last week, with stocks taking a roller coaster ride and bond yields plunging, the risks of an unconstrained economic conflict have risen substantially. Like all wars, […]

Explore how U.S.-China relations have evolved in the Trump era. Download your FREE copy of U.S.-China Rivalry in the Trump Era today. Integrating China into the liberal trade order was expected to have a moderating effect on Beijing. Instead, under President Xi Jinping, China has asserted its military control over the South China Sea and cracked down on domestic dissent, all while continuing to use unfair trade practices to boost its economy. Download U.S.-China Rivalry in the Trump Era today to take a deeper look the relationship, the Trump administration’s policy, and a glimpse at what the future may hold. […]

In this week’s editors’ discussion on Trend Lines, WPR’s Judah Grunstein, Frederick Deknatel and Laura Weiss talk about President Donald Trump’s decision to postpone a new round of tariffs on China, and what it says about his subordination of U.S. foreign policy to the needs of his reelection campaign. They also discussed the challenges facing newly elected Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s faltering attempt to force new elections in Italy. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get […]

Newly installed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is eager to negotiate a trade deal with the United States. But should he be? And what price is he willing to pay? Other countries—China, Japan and the U.K.’s neighbors in the European Union—are all negotiating with the U.S. under duress. They seem to be doing their best to stall things for as long as possible in the hope that President Donald Trump won’t be reelected next year. By contrast, British International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab came to Washington last week to push for trade negotiations to start […]

NEWRY, Northern Ireland—One of the main attractions at the local museum in Newry, a bustling market town some 40 miles south of Belfast, is an old wooden sign. Painted on a chalky white background, its tall red letters proclaim in Irish, then in English: “Custaim: Stad, Customs: Stop.” For decades, this sign stood on the road between Newry, in Northern Ireland, and Dundalk, in the Republic of Ireland, demarking the twisting, 500-kilometer border between the two countries. The sign was taken down when Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Union’s single market in 1993. By the time the […]

The truce in the U.S.-China trade war didn’t last long. Just a month after agreeing to restart negotiations on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, President Donald Trump announced another escalation last week. Unless something happens, or Trump changes his mind—which is always a possibility—U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin collecting an additional 10 percent tariff on the remaining $300 billion in imports from China on Sept. 1. And this time, consumers would feel the pain because the tariffs will hit clothing, shoes, electronics and other everyday items that had previously been spared. To top it […]