The tenuous trade truce between Washington and Beijing has collapsed. What lies ahead is less a conventional trade war and more of a sustained struggle in which both powers codify coercion into their economic statecraft and increasingly weaponize interdependence as a source of leverage. In this new, emerging phase, confrontation will no longer be perceived…
When Maleshoane Rakojoana was furloughed from her job at a Lesotho clothing factory nearly three months ago, it turned her whole family’s life upside down. No longer able to afford the rent, they had to leave the capital, Maseru, and move in with relatives, miles away from where her children go to school. Because Rakojoana…
U.S. President Donald Trump has given Russian President Vladimir Putin a lot of rope over the past eight and a half years, but his patience now appears to be rapidly diminishing as he grows frustrated with Putin’s refusal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Trump cut short a 50-day deadline that he had given Russia…
Last week, U.S. chip designer Nvidia announced that it would resume sales of one of its best-selling artificial intelligence chips to China after obtaining the go-ahead from the U.S. government. In April, the Trump administration had blocked exports of the chip, known as the H20, but after months of lobbying from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang,…
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at how Japan’s election results could hamper U.S. trade talks, Israeli forces attacking Gaza’s main humanitarian aid hub, and a deadly plane crash in Bangladesh. Election Defeat Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed on Monday to remain at his post despite his ruling coalition suffering a devastating…
The days of a T-shirt costing less than a cup of coffee may be numbered In a move that rattled global fashion supply chains and stock markets in April, the United States slapped sweeping tariffs on textile imports from key manufacturing hubs in Asia. Cambodia saw duties surge to 49 percent, Vietnam 46 percent, Bangladesh…
The flurry of on-again, off-again tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed have thus far exempted the semiconductor chips that power much of the modern economy. That may be about to change. The Department of Commerce on Monday filed a so-called Section 232 investigation into semiconductors and their impact on national security, providing three weeks…
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Black Sea negotiations for the Russia-Ukraine war, the Trump administration’s handling of U.S. national security information, sweeping anti-government protests in Turkey, and South Korea reinstating Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as its acting president. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Sign up…
Over the past month, through a flurry of phone calls and flattery, Canada and Mexico have twice successfully fended off U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, at least earning temporary reprieves. Meanwhile, Chinese officials have taken a different tack. Like a seasoned boxer in the first round of a fight, rather than lunging in, China…