China will further overhaul its bloated state enterprises and push for mergers in sectors such as power and coal, which are plagued by zombie firms, bankruptcy and debt defaults, according to the head of the agency that oversees state assets valued at $26 trillion. [April 11, 2018 | Bloomberg] “Some of the central state-owned enterprises…
The World Bank has appointed Yale University’s Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, a leading academic who has probed how international trade can fuel inequality, as the bank’s new chief economist. [Josh Zumbrun | April 26, 2018 | WSJ] The bank said Ms. Goldberg, who goes by Penny, would help strengthen its academic bona fides. She just completed a tenure…
BEIJING — When President Xi Jinping announced measures to further open up China’s auto industry to foreign carmakers, the global industry initially cheered. [KEITH BRADSHER | April 25, 2018 | NY Times] Now the cheering has stopped. As details are emerging, foreign auto executives attending China’s annual auto show in Beijing this week said Mr. Xi’s initiative was too narrow…
The escalating trade war between the United States and China, with the Trump administration considering $100 billion in punitive tariffs in response to China’s $50 billion in retaliatory tariffs, obscures a more important source of conflict: China’s desire to someday establish the yuan as a global reserve currency, on a par with the dollar. [Lan Cao |…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government may start scrutinizing informal partnerships between American and Chinese companies in the field of artificial intelligence, threatening practices that have long been considered garden variety development work for technology companies, sources familiar with the discussions said. [Koh Gui Qing | April 27, 2018 | Reuters] So far, U.S.…
On April 18th, CPA co-hosted a manufacturing summit with California State Senator Joel Anderson in San Marcos, CA. Dan DiMicco shared an insider’s view of the Trump Administration trade agenda and addressed specific issues related to tariffs. Research Director Jeff Ferry’s presentation highlighted that economists are beginning to see the light on trade because of…
The World Steel Association predicts that global steel demand will increase 1.8 percent in 2018, though Chinese steel demand will drop more than other countries’ over the next two years. [April 26, 2018 | Inside US Trade] The association, a Brussels-based trade group that says its members represent 85 percent of world steel production, released…
It’s a sad but familiar story. A plant closes, and dozens or hundreds or thousands of decently paid factory workers lose their jobs. Unable to find work that compensates them nearly as well, they have little choice but to accept low-wage employment in retail or restaurants. [Alan Greenblatt | April 26, 2018 | Governing] What’s…
The AFL-CIO has thrown its weight behind the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act and advised against changes to it. [Jack Caporal | April 24, 2018 | Inside US Trade] “The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) is a reasoned approach that balances the desire to maintain an open investment climate and our security…
Prominent U.S. business lobbies are begging the Trump administration not to impose tariffs on Chinese imports, but some small manufacturers are pushing the other way: Trying to get more products on the proposed list. [Mark Niquette | April 24, 2018 | Bloomberg] Makers of steel wheels, safes and other products want the U.S. to impose…
