Trade

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It’s official. Trump has put US manufacturing, which is about 14% of the US gross national product, into recession, according to AFP. Recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decline. The recession in manufacturing has many reasons, including a cyclical slowdown in the Chinese economy. But on top of […]

Donald Trump

Trump’s incessant Talk of Mexico Tariffs is about White Nationalism, not Trade

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Laura Carlsen | – (FPIF) – There’s nothing “uncontrollable” about people applying for asylum. All the U.S. has to do is meet its obligations under international law. Donald Trump has once again torpedoed the U.S. relationship with Mexico — its third-largest trade partner, closest neighbor and, actually, an ally — by announcing his decision […]

Employment

Is Trump’s trade war saving American jobs – or killing them?

The Conversation

by Jeffrey Kucik | – With the U.S.-China trade war intensifying, there is a lot of talk about whether tariffs save American jobs – as President Donald Trump claims – or destroy them. On May 14, for example, Trump said his tariffs helped save the U.S. steel industry. Whether or not that’s true, many economists […]

Russia

Putin: Other Powers will Dump Dollar as Reserve Currency if US goes on With Sanctions

TeleSur

(TeleSur) – “It seems to me that our American partners make a colossal strategic mistake,” Putin said, adding that it is a “typical mistake of any empire.” Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech on the Russian Energy Week, on Wednesday, saying that his Washington counterparts are making a “typical” and “colossal” mistake, referring to […]

Trade

How Trump’s Trade War Hurts Working-Class Americans

The Conversation

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. Trump will skip the session on climate change. Trump has been needling Justin Trudeau, the PM of Canada, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president. Macron is needling back: The American President […]

Petroleum

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

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – The U.S. President, Donald Trump, slammed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Friday, complaining the cartel was keeping crude oil prices high. “Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea, Oil […]

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, […]