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Argentina: beggaring our neighbours
Argentina has run into trouble before with trade tactics that often seem like knee-jerk reactions to events rather than a coherent policies. The result is a growing reputation for protectionism, which...
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Asia: a sweet tooth bigger than ever
China’s rising demand for sugar, caused by a growing population and economic progress, is adding more pressure to the world’s biggest sugar producers. Chinese demand for sugar imports will have nearly...
View ArticleChart of the week: China gets ahead of itself on imports
It’s easy to think of China as the world’s leading exporter. But its leading importer, too? Yes, according to president Hu Jintao, who in a statement on the foreign ministry website on Friday said...
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Slump in shipping costs suggests Chinese exports to Europe slumping too
Shipping costs between China and Europe are plummeting as demand from the beleaguered eurozone contracts sharply. And while falling demand might not be much of a surprise the speed of the drop in...
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10 things about EMs from the IMF
The IMF World Economic Outlook update released on Tuesday makes pretty ugly reading, as Chris Giles reports in the FT, with world economic growth set to be significantly weaker than previously thought....
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Brazil: we like imports made in Brazil
After last year’s controversial increase of a tax on imported vehicles, Brazil unveiled last week proposals for another set of protective measures. The trade ministry has assembled a team to choose up...
View ArticleChart of the week: How bad are China’s trade figures?
Chinese imports fell sharply in January while exports fell slightly but by much less than expected. This doesn’t fit with conventional wisdom. Any slowdown in the west, especially in Europe, should hit...
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Argentina trade: nothing to celebrate
By Ian Mount In most countries, a rising trade surplus is usually greeted as good news. But Argentina’s announcement on Thursday of a better-than-expected 7.2 per cent increase in its January trade...
View ArticleLearning to live without Argentina
Import substitution. If you’re the Argentine government, this means substituting locally-made things for imports. If you’re a foreign exporter, this means substituting countries where it’s easier to do...
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SE Asia trade: bad numbers
Some distinctly discouraging numbers out of Asia on Friday. The hoped-for bounce back in Thailand’s exports didn’t happen, and Philippines imports were also down. So what’s to blame? Global demand or...
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HSBC: from exports to imports in EM
Emerging market exports make headlines. When they are rising, developed world politicians worry about the effects on their industries. And when they are falling, governments everywhere fret about the...
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China: stalling imports, growing headache
The number that matters in China’s trade figures, published on Tuesday, is for imports. With the global economy slowing, all eyes are on the Middle Kingdom to see whether it can once again help pull...
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Indonesia: what overheating?
Indonesia-watchers have been fretting recently about some alarming headlines about economic overheating, not least the growing current account deficit. But not everybody is worried. In a report on...
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Asia: machinery exports to rise as plants boost added-value production
China’s exports of machinery and transport equipment will increase more than threefold in the ten years to 2020, as emerging economies in the Asia Pacific shift to producing higher value-added goods....
View ArticleS Africa: trade deficit at record high
Ouch. This isn’t any old trade deficit, this is a record trade deficit. South African imports minus exports hit R21bn ($2.4bn) in October, a far cry from many analysts’ predictions of around R15bn. The...
View Article[brief] India trade gap narrows
India’s trade gap has narrowed to $14.9bn in February, down from $20bn a month earlier and $17.7bn in December – on the surface an improvement, but there are worries lurking underneath. According to...
View ArticleIndia trade gap smallest in two years
It may not be a surplus, but it’s some positive economic news for India: the trade deficit has narrowed again. Data published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry show that the trade gap declined...
View ArticleS Africa trade: did China come through?
In the run up to this month’s trade data from South Africa, there were a couple of different theories doing the rounds. One was that the deficit would get a lot worse, based on a the timing of holidays...
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India and China; making up, but what about trade?
Salman Khurshid, India’s foreign minister, is back from a trip to China last week, happy to see the end of a tense stand-off over a long-running border dispute. Settling that issue will re-open the way...
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India hikes gold import duties – again
For the second time this year, the Indian government has hiked duties on gold imports. As Indian buyers are famously price insensitive when it comes to their favourite yellow metal, this may not be the...
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