13 h. ago Air strikes and insults: Trump’s feud with Colombia threatens key alliance

For decades, Colombia and the United States have been devoted allies, sharing military intelligence, a robust trade relationship and a multibillion-dollar fight against drug trafficking. Now that is all at risk as the US ramps up deadly air strikes off Colombia’s coast and the leaders of both nations trade scathing verbal attacks. US President Donald Trump called Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla fighter and Colombia’s first leftist president, an “illegal drug dealer”. Petro called Trump “rude”...

Events

19 h. ago ‘Reason to be together’: India, Brazil boost ties amid US tariff tensions

India and Brazil are doubling down on economic and climate cooperation in a bid to strengthen Brics and bolster the Global South’s negotiating power as both nations face rising trade tensions with the United States. Analysts say the push – announced during Brazilian Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin’s visit to New Delhi last week – is not just about shielding their economies from punitive US tariffs, but also about asserting influence on multilateral issues ranging from energy security to global...

Events

3 d. ago Japan’s political turmoil will weigh heavily on its economy, and beyond

Are politicians dispensable, and can elite bureaucrats run a country more efficiently? The question has become one of more than academic importance in Japan, where the political situation has degenerated into chaos as potential leaders and their parties vie for power. This is a question that has considerable economic and financial as well as political significance. Japan is a key trade, investment and security partner to other leading nations in and beyond Asia and its financial markets are...

Politics

8 d. ago JPMorgan to invest $10B in areas 'critical' to US national security amid trade tensions with China

JPMorgan to invest $10B in areas 'critical' to US national security amid trade tensions with China  New York Post

Events

9 d. ago Shanghai to scrap all foreign investment limits on manufacturing

Mainland China’s commercial and financial hub Shanghai has pledged to remove all regulatory hurdles for foreign investors to set up manufacturing businesses, as authorities move to shore up confidence in the local and national economies despite rising US-China trade tensions. Mayor Gong Zheng said on Sunday that deepened reforms had been carried out to grant overseas companies in the fields of electric vehicles, value-added telecommunications services, biotechnology and hospitals full access to...

Economics

1 week ago US and China have killed free trade, former French minister says

Former French finance minister Eric Lombard accused the United States and China of killing free trade and called for the European Union to pursue a more “nationalistic” approach to trade policy in response during a speech in Paris on Thursday. “Free trade is over, it is dead,” Lombard told a summit on competitiveness organised by Politico in the French capital. He urged France and Europe to “wake up” to the fact that the US and China were employing unfair trade practices that deviate from free...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Free trade is over, it is dead’, former French minister declares

Former French finance minister Eric Lombard accused the United States and China of killing free trade and called for the European Union to pursue a more “nationalistic” approach to trade policy in response during a speech in Paris on Thursday. “Free trade is over, it is dead,” Lombard told a summit on competitiveness organised by Politico in the French capital. He urged France and Europe to “wake up” to the fact that the US and China were employing unfair trade practices that deviate from free...

Politics

2 w. ago Did the UK prioritise trade over national security by dropping China spying case?

Did the UK prioritise trade over national security by dropping China spying case?  Financial Times

Events

3 w. ago India uses UN spotlight to call out developed nations on trade

India accused developed nations of hypocrisy in global trade and their responses to global crises at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, a charge that followed faltering efforts to negotiate with Washington to remove tariffs tied to its purchases of Russian crude oil. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar used his speech in New York to warn against tariff volatility, technology controls, and supply-chain coercion, while urging the Global South to push back against...

Politics