Trade

The Gulf States have Long Boosted US Economic Dominance, even if not every President Got a Free Private Jet

By Adam Hanieh, University of Exeter (The Conversation) – After signing a US$142 billion (£107 billion) arms deal with Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump said the US bond with that country was “more powerful than ever”. He was also reportedly quite pleased with the gift of a private jet from Qatar. But these arrangements are just […]

Plutocracy

The Only Winners in This Trade War Will Be Trump and His Fellow Billionaires

Peter Certo

Trump’s erratic tariffs aren’t a recipe for an industrial comeback. They’re a recipe for corruption. By Peter Certo | April 30, 2025 ( Otherwords.org ) – President Biden left behind an economy that was pretty healthy, conventionally speaking. Unemployment was low and wages were rising, but stubbornly high costs of living opened a door for […]

Boycotts

Trouble at Tesla and Protests against Trump’s Tariffs suggest consumer Boycotts are starting to Bite

The Conversation

By Erin O’Brien, Griffith University and Justine Coneybeer, Griffith University (The Conversation) – When the United States starts a trade war with your country, how do you fight back? For individuals, one option is to wage a personal trade war and boycott products from the US. President Donald Trump has said no nation will be […]

China

How Trump’s Tariffs are driving Asia and the Gulf into China’s Arms

Neil Thompson

London (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – US President Donald Trump’s America First trade policy has seen the global economy enter a new era of protectionism in the two months since he took office. The US leader has embarked on a series of trade wars with countries that run trade deficits with the US, including […]

Colonialism

Back to the Bad old Days of Empire and Self-Destructive Tariffs: Trump as McKinley Redux

Hugh J. Curran

Orono, Maine (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Among tariffs, territorial ambitions and other threats to America’s well-being by Pres. Trump, one of the more severethreats may be his willful ignorance concerning the severity of climate change. Michael Mann, one of America’s most highly regarded climatologists, noted that the Trump Administration has given polluters and fossil fuel promoters, “the keys to the fossil fuel car […]

Featured

Turkey Suspends Trade with Israel over Gaza: Solidarity or Politics?

Volkan Isbasaran

Turkey, Israel, boycott, Gaza

Bangladesh

Iran leads charge for De-Dollarization at Asian Banks Meeting

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Asian Exchange Union is not a famous international organization, but its meeting on Tuesday in Tehran may have started the ball rolling on a momentous change in global finance, since it dealt with the possibility of de-dollarization. According to the Iranian press, banking representatives from Iran, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, […]

China

Turkey’s China Partnership: Is Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative not Delivering Enough?

Global Voices

BRI is not just about trains: telecommunications and energy are key Written byEmre Demir Screenshot from CGTN YouTube channel showing high-speed railway connections built with Chinese investment in Turkey ( Globalvoices.org) – Turkey has strong economic relations with China and is one of the very early partners of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). […]

Debt

Is the Russian Economy headed for Collapse?

The Conversation

By Eric Werker, Simon Fraser University | – (The Conversation) – To justify invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has painted Russia as a hegemonic power re-asserting its rightful claim to imperial greatness. Yet even before the invasion, Russia’s economic capabilities were hardly capable of sustaining an empire. Now, with foreign sanctions presiding over a plummeting Russian […]