Trade

US Making ‘Colossal’ and ‘Typical’ Empire’s Mistake

How Trump’s Trade War Hurts Working-Class Americans

By Jeffrey Kucik | – President Donald Trump justifies tariffs on imports by arguing that “unfair trade policies” have harmed American workers. This has led to a trade war in which the U.S. and China have placed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s products. Most recently, China said it’s ready to slap tariffs on US$60 billion […]

Donald Trump

G7 Views Trump’s US as Rogue State, as France Threatens a “G6” Memo

Juan Cole

Trump’s 17th century mercantilist trade policies are making the United States the skunk at the party at the G7 meet in Quebec on Friday

Petroleum

Trump slams OPEC cartel over higher oil prices; Does he fear Carterization?

contributors

Donald Trump slammed OPEC on Friday, complaining the cartel was keeping crude oil prices high.

European Union

Iran formally switches from dollar to euro

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Iran’s feud with the US is set to get worse after Tehran announced yesterday that it will start reporting foreign currency amounts in euros rather than US dollars, as part of the country’s effort to reduce its reliance on the American currency due to political tension with Washington. Central […]

China

Could China oil Exchange & Green Energy pull the plug on the Dollar?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Kate Duguid at Reuters reports the alarm at UBS that China’s new oil futures exchange will hurt the standing of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. That development in turn would start the reverse snowball down the hill, with the dollar falling against other currencies, […]

Trade

George W. Bush tried steel tariffs. It didn’t work

contributors

By William Hauk | (The Conversation) | – – President Donald Trump finally followed through on his almost year-old threat to restrict imports of foreign steel. On March 8, the president slapped a 25 percent tariff on the metal, while also putting a 10 percent duty on foreign aluminum. After initially suggesting there’d be no […]

Inequality

The last time the US enacted Punitive Tariffs it enabled the Great Depression

contributors

By Charles Hankla | (The Conversation) | – – President Donald Trump finally appears poised to make good on his promised threats to slam the door on free trade and erect walls around the country’s economy. Citing the need to protect national security, he released plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on foreign steel […]

European Union

Europe’s big Plans for Iran Trade announce Independence from Trump’s Washington

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite the significant economic problems Iran faces, and despite the real problems in unequal income distribution, Iran’s economy is seeing bright spots that the Western press rarely admits. In the year after international sanctions were lifted on the signing of the nuclear accord, spring 2016-spring 2017, […]