The United States accused China of unfair trade practices today during the World Trade Organization (WTO) review, saying the country's industrial policies "skew the playing field" against imported goods and services."We also cannot ignore reports of China's use of forced labor in several sectors," U.S. charge d'affaires David Bisbee told the ...

 The World Trade Organization (WTO) updated its economic forecast for 2021-22 with a more positive outlook for global trade. The WTO now predicts trade will grow 10.8% this year, up from the 8% forecasted in March.However, while overall recovery is strong, many developing regions remain far behind partly due to the lack of vaccine access. "The...

The European Union warned that only one month is left to resolve a metals dispute with the U.S., otherwise new EU tariffs will hit American products starting Dec. 1.An agreement must happen by the beginning of November in order to avoid consequences, said EU trade commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, on Bloomberg Television. "We are now working very i...

 Wholesale food prices like wheat, sugar and vegetable oil have increased by roughly 33% globally since last year, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. But in some countries, the rising cost of food might be a tipping point – resulting in protests and even war, said Ida Rudolfsen, doctoral researcher at Uppsala University a...

The United Kingdom will postpone the start of Brexit border checks on food imports from the European Union until July 2022, said Brexit minister David Frost in a statement on Tuesday.The goal of delaying some Brexit protocols is to give businesses more time to adjust and prevent the current food shortage in the U.K. from getting worse. Europe suppl...

China's global trade soared to record high levels last month, according to a report from CNN. The country's exports jumped 25.6% in August from one year ago to $294.3 billion, and imports spiked 33.1% to $236 billion, both the highest numbers on record.These economic strides are in despite of new coronavirus outbreaks and supply bottlenecks. "While...

Vietnam is next in line to grapple with the challenges of widespread supply-chain woes as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus. Beginning today, Vietnam's major industrial southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai stay-home orders are extended for another 15 days."American companies that diversified their supplier bases outside of C...

The construction industry is traditionally notorious for consuming large amounts of raw materials and natural resources, but that may be about to change. The sector is making strides to find more sustainable alternatives and working to reduce its carbon footprint, according to a recent global survey from SAP, a German multinational software corpora...

Global trade continues to recover at an unexpected rate from the pandemic, but new data indicates recovery may now start plateauing, according to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) goods trade barometer reading posted today.The barometer latest reading reached a record level of 110.4, the highest number since the indicato...

A paper published this month by the Peterson Institute for International Economics analyzes how vaccine supply chains were setup during the pandemic and what it can tell us about international trade. The production and distribution of vaccines were put under unordinary pressures, but still the paper draws parallels to the cross-border trade of othe...

The commercial shipping industry is on track to face a serious shortage of merchant sailors in five years if urgent action is not taken, according to the recent Seafarer Workforce Report from BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).A merchant sailor shortage would further strain the already overwhelmed global supply chain. Commercial ...

The U.S. recently accused Xinjiang of using forced labor, which has led lawmakers to support blocking imports from the region. American companies also were warned of legal risks if they do business in this area, the Associated Press reported.The U.S. Senate approved a measure earlier this month that would block imports of goods made with forced lab...

Businesses are increasingly optimistic as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, according to a survey published by S&P Global Market Intelligence this week. This optimism is despite the varying levels of transformation several companies have undergone due to COVID-19.According to the survey, 90% of businesses noted some degree of ...

Business-to-business (B2B) spending continues to increase, which indicates that businesses are becoming more confident about the future economy, according to American Express Global Spend Indicator data released yesterday.Of the surveyed companies, 70% worldwide share an optimistic outlook for the next 12 months, the report finds.Companies are star...

The economy is expected to bounce back at a stronger rate than originally predicted in the second half of 2021, said National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz in the Monthly Economic Review earlier this month."It has become clear that the U.S. economy and retail sales are growing far faster and more steadily than anyone could have e...