Post by account_disabled on Feb 22, 2024 5:31:58 GMT -4
Our story today, revealing how billions of dollars in Western profits are trapped in Russia as the Kremlin increases pressure on “hostile” nations, is the latest example of how war in Europe and other geopolitical tensions are disrupting business. and global trade. Local profits from companies from BP to Citigroup have been blocked in Russia since Moscow announced a ban on dividend payments to US, UK and EU companies. Many have attempted to sell their local subsidiaries, but any deal requires Kremlin approval and is subject to deep price discounts. Most significantly for global trade, Russia's attempts to prevent Ukraine from exporting its grain continue to threaten global food supplies, shaking markets and raising prices for developing countries. kyiv has stepped up efforts to break Moscow's blockade in the Black Sea, but has not been helped by Hungary, Slovakia and Poland banning imports of Ukrainian grain over the weekend, a move condemned by Germany and others as potentially illegal. and “incompatible” with the unity of the EU.
The EU had asked kyiv to voluntarily prevent product surges in neighboring countries. The other continuing disruptor of global trade is friction between the West and China. The World Trade Pakistan Phone Number Organization warned last week about the impact of friendship, as countries shifted their supply chains towards allies, rather than the most efficient exporter, to reduce their dependence on China. Talk of deglobalization was premature, but friendship would ultimately lead to higher costs and more global conflicts, the WTO argued. The UK's outgoing trade chief separately warned that the race to net zero, as well as growing animosity towards Beijing, was providing the pretext for a damaging trend towards protectionism. As leading foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman points out today, while many in Europe were dismayed by this turn toward protectionism in the United States, last week's announcement of an EU investigation into subsidies to the electric car industry of China suggests that Europe is beginning to travel a similar path.
The Bundesbank joined the debate today, arguing that overdependence on trade with China was one of the main reasons why Germany's "business model is in danger. Faltering trade with China, Berlin's largest trading partner, is one reason its economy has contracted or stagnated over the past nine months. Attempts to circumvent China's influence have also led to talk of a new trade corridor between India and the Middle East, backed by the United States and the EU at the recent G20 summit. Turkey, which would be bypassed by the new route, is negotiating with regional partners an alternative, the Iraq Development Route, highlighting its traditional role as a bridge between Asia and Europe, a history that goes back centuries, with the Silk Roads. What you need to know: the UK and European economy The Bank of England is widely expected to raise interest rates by another quarter point on Thursday, taking the cost of borrowing to percent, its highest level since early.
The EU had asked kyiv to voluntarily prevent product surges in neighboring countries. The other continuing disruptor of global trade is friction between the West and China. The World Trade Pakistan Phone Number Organization warned last week about the impact of friendship, as countries shifted their supply chains towards allies, rather than the most efficient exporter, to reduce their dependence on China. Talk of deglobalization was premature, but friendship would ultimately lead to higher costs and more global conflicts, the WTO argued. The UK's outgoing trade chief separately warned that the race to net zero, as well as growing animosity towards Beijing, was providing the pretext for a damaging trend towards protectionism. As leading foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman points out today, while many in Europe were dismayed by this turn toward protectionism in the United States, last week's announcement of an EU investigation into subsidies to the electric car industry of China suggests that Europe is beginning to travel a similar path.
The Bundesbank joined the debate today, arguing that overdependence on trade with China was one of the main reasons why Germany's "business model is in danger. Faltering trade with China, Berlin's largest trading partner, is one reason its economy has contracted or stagnated over the past nine months. Attempts to circumvent China's influence have also led to talk of a new trade corridor between India and the Middle East, backed by the United States and the EU at the recent G20 summit. Turkey, which would be bypassed by the new route, is negotiating with regional partners an alternative, the Iraq Development Route, highlighting its traditional role as a bridge between Asia and Europe, a history that goes back centuries, with the Silk Roads. What you need to know: the UK and European economy The Bank of England is widely expected to raise interest rates by another quarter point on Thursday, taking the cost of borrowing to percent, its highest level since early.